Days At The Corner Café
by appliiex
Summary: AU. Meet Sora, a barista at the Corner Café. This is the story about the customers he serves and the challenges he overcomes while working in the middle of a medical centre.
1. The day Sora started from the bottom

Author's note: Hi guys! Long time no story huh? :P

This is actually a side story to another story I will write up shortly. It will be called Bittersweet Aroma so please look out for that title in the future :) I have a massive writer's block for that story at the moment but please enjoy this in the meantime. This story is a complement to the main story to help understand the characters a bit better and to uncover bit and pieces of the past. No big plot line or anything.

Thanks guys :)

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or Final Fantasy, or any characters from them. They belong to Tetsuya Nomura.

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**Chapter 1: The day Sora started from the bottom**

A woman wearing a slim-fitting grey suit walked down the hallway into the reception area. She had a headache. Her tight hair bun and high heels weren't helping with the pain either. She groaned as she checked the time: 3:30pm. _Only one more hour to go_, she mentally thought to herself. She continued walking and stopped by the entrance, pushed her glasses into her face while looking down at her clipboard, and called out;

"Sora Hikari?"

A young brunette man stood up from the couch and held out his hand enthusiastically. "That's me! Nice to meet you!"

The woman frowned as she eyed him up and down.

White collar shirt. That's acceptable. Black slacks. Most appropriate. And… red converse shoes? Wild spiky hair? Who was he trying to be? The tenth doctor?!

She plastered on a wide smile and hesitantly shook his hand. "Yes… it's a pleasure. Now please follow me, Ventus is waiting for you in his office." She turned back on her heels walked back where she came from.

"Thank you." Tension filled the air as they walked in silence. The uncomfortable atmosphere was overwhelming but she put up with it. This was all part of the job. After working at this office for a time that was way past her liking, her care factor has decreased significantly. Poor kid.

They stopped by a large wooden door with the name 'Ventus Kizuna' engraved on the front. The woman knocked before opening the door and entered the slightly musk room. There was a tall window at the end of the room with a desk just before it and two chairs at each end. A red carpet was rolled from the entrance to the door to the desk and a couple of bookcases lined the walls. The chair furthest away was turned facing the window, hiding the figure from the visitors.

"Ventus, Sora Hikari is here." The blue haired woman spoke.

"Thank you, Aqua. You may leave now." A stern voice boomed out from the chair.

As Aqua left, the chair spun around revealing a blonde hair man with shorter spikes styled in a professional matter. He was wearing a dark grey suit with a bright red tie and a white shirt to complement. His eyes widened slightly as he checked out the young man before him and smirked. He had a good feeling about this guy. "Have a seat, young man. How are you doing today?"

"Good, thank you, sir. Yourself?" Sora pulled out the chair and sat down, feeling slightly appreciative that it was slightly cushioned.

"I'm good. Please, call me Ventus." The other man smiled. "You applied for the 'Store Manager' role, didn't you?"

"Yes I did." Sora started to twiddle his thumbs.

Ventus reached down and pulled out a piece of paper from the drawer. "So, before we begin the interview, I was looking over your resume and to be perfectly honest, it surprised me. No work experience whatsoever, no skills were mentioned, and lastly, you just graduated from UDI with a degree that has no relevance for the position you applied for. What do you think is going to happen today?"

Sora sat up straight and smiled calmly. "I think you are going to give me a chance."

A blonde eyebrow shot up. "Oh? A chance to work?"

"Yes and," Sora grinned before straightening up again, "you are going to give me a chance to explain myself. If you didn't, you wouldn't have called me up for an interview. I mean, you saw how crap my resume is."

"Hmm, cocky aren't you?" Ventus grinned along with him. "Why should I hire you when there are plenty of other people with more qualifications?"

Sora continued. "I know that I may not have the right experience or skills you desire, but I have the right work ethic. I'm still young so by getting this job it will give me a precious opportunity to learn and develop. I can follow instructions and have a willingness to learn anything. And by applying with an empty resume, I showed initiative. Courage, even."

"Mmm." Ventus leaned forward on the desk and looked straight into the young man's eyes. "The Corner Café is a well known company that has over 100 stores across the Island, and we only hire the best to represent us. If there was a single slip up or accident, it could ruin us. This position you applied for requires someone to smoothly operate the café and manage other staff. At times, you may have to work independently, especially due to the location of this store. Why do you think you have what it takes to be in this position?"

"Did you ever play soccer in high school?"

The blonde furrowed his eyebrows. "No, I was more of a chess geek."

"Well, I was the captain of the soccer team. Even in UDI, I was the president of the Soccer Club. You know what I learnt? Teamwork. To play the best game, we had to work as a team. Brotherhood helped us to succeed. As the captain, it was my job to encourage and motivate everyone before a big game so that we would put in 110%. Everybody relied on me to make the best decisions and lead the team into victory. Even if we won or loss, it didn't matter. We had fun together on the field and that was the most important factor. I can also work well under pressure and make decisions in order to produce the best results. It was great to work in a tight-knit team and I hope to bring over the same qualities to this job." Sora smiled at the memories as he reflected on his experiences.

"What is your greatest failure and what did you learn from it?"

"How about love?"

Ventus almost choked. Did he hear that right? "Excuse me?"

"Have you ever been in love?"

"Um, well," Ventus scratched the back of his head before answering. "Yes I have." He felt that he could trust this kid.

The young man looked away for a second before looking back at the blonde. "When I was in my last year of high school I was in love with this girl. She was smart, kind, and so so beautiful. I was at the point where I was obsessed and followed her every move. When we had to choose what to do after we leave high school, I was shocked when she wanted to do a law degree. So I decided I wanted to do law as well. I spent the rest of my senior year studying just to make sure I can get into this course as the score to get in was so high. I missed my senior prom for this. My friends started to drift away and I hardly showed up for soccer practice even though I was the captain. It was the worst time of my life. When the results came out, I ended up passing the score and excitedly went to ask this girl out. But she rejected me. She was going to Radiant Gardens for college to do a beauty course instead. By this experience, I learned that I shouldn't give up what I enjoy in life for love…"

There was a pregnant pause in the middle as Sora looked away. The young man coughed suddenly and perked back up. "…and learned that no matter what I'm doing I should strive to do it the best of my ability. Otherwise, it's not worth doing at all."

Ventus gave him a sympathetic smile. "Alright. What are your availabilities?"

"I can work everyday, any time." Sora smiled.

"Can you start next week?"

"Yes."

"Good." Ventus spun around his chair and faced the window. He was having an internal battle with himself as he looked at his reflection upon the window. This kid showed potential yet he did not have the necessary experience. He could either be really bad or be a quick learner. He hoped for the latter. Should he give in? He sighed inwardly and spun back, facing Sora. "You know what, kid? You remind me of myself when I was younger. And it's not just the spikiness, it's your passion. You clearly show that you have a passion for delivering memorable experiences and you demonstrate that you have warm and authentic communication skills. Lastly, you have great instinct; I _will_ give you a chance. You're hired."

Sora widened his eyes. "What?"

"You're hired. Congratulations, Sora." Ventus held out his right hand.

"Just like that?"

"Just like that." Ventus confirmed.

Sora stood up and took his hand. "Thank you, sir! You won't regret this!"

"It's _Ventus_. However,'' the blonde placed two fingers on the side of his head, "it won't be for the 'Store Manager' role. You will be a regular barista since we have another opening for this position. This involves making coffee for our customers as well as helping with the other café duties. You don't have enough experience or skills to be a manager yet, but if you prove to me that in about a year or so you are capable of running the café independently with no problems, I might consider you for the role. Is that alright with you?"

"Yes!" Sora replied too quickly. He straightened up and coughed. "I mean, I'd have to make some arrangements but it should be fine."

"That's what I like to hear." Ventus grinned and stood up. They began walking towards the door. "In the meantime, I'll be running as the store manager. Yes, I have decided I'll be returning to the field." The blonde announced to himself, leaving Sora confused in the background. "I'll train you in every area to make sure you are perfection before the store opens. Aqua will give you the details about the training sessions on your way out."

"Thank you so much, sir." Sora bowed before him and left with the biggest smile on his face.

"It's VENTUS!" The blonde called after him but grinned as he saw the young man fist pumped the air. He shook his head and return to his office. _This is going to be a long year._

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And so it begins.

UDI = University of Destiny Islands. I wanted it to sound like UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles). :P The girl is not Kairi btw. She plays a different role.

Thanks for reading the first instalment and I shall see you guys soon :)

... I hope. *fingers crossed*


	2. The Day Kairi First Tasted Adulthood

**Author's note**: Apparently I have been spelling espresso wrong all these years. I used to spell it 'expresso' until Word corrected me when I was typing this chapter up and I googled it just to be safe. Haha, what even?

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**Chapter 2:** **The Day Kairi First Tasted Adulthood**

Kairi Hart couldn't wait to be an adult.

When she was a little girl, she often dreamt about her future Prince Charming. Tall, long silky blonde hair, beautiful blue eyes, and of course, the list wouldn't be complete if her Prince Charming could sweep her off her feet.

However, as she grew up, reality exceeded her dreams and the Princes she had ever dated were, well… let's just say that they were the Prince's best friend's horse keeper's servants.

It was not only that her love life was pulled down by a childish fantasy, Kairi never experienced the thrill of being a grown up. Yeah sure, she was finally freed from her parent's clutches and lived life independently, but she never lived life to the fullest. For example, hitting the clubs with her girlfriends was not her thing. Being surrounded by sweaty drunk people in a dark room while getting eyed up by strange men made her extremely uncomfortable and she avoided those scenes as much as possible. And there was only so many dance moves Kairi could bust out during the many repetitive "doof-doof" songs.

But it was the middle of the year when she had to return from Twilight Town's Medical Centre that she had the first taste of being an adult. And she liked it.

At the prime age of 21 years old, Kairi was in her graduate year of her Occupational Therapy degree and she had her work placements at the Island's Medical Centre. She could have chose better places to do her placement but she loved the Centre too much: she loved the staff, the location, the pay-rate, everything. And in return, everybody loved her back.

Kairi drove to work that day in her shiny red sports car with her short red-wine hair tied in pig tails flowing in the wind. She had to constantly push her black thick-framed glasses back onto her face as they kept falling off every time she pressed on the brakes. Miley Cyrus was blasting from the radio but she didn't care. She had the best sleep in for the longest time and nothing could ruin her mood. Apparently, she was wrong.

She drove past the Centre's entrance and went to her usual parking spot in the middle with a tall tree shading over the space. It was a pain to walk to the entrance from that spot but that tree shade was a necessity for her car in the never ending summer weather. As she got to about 20 meters away from the spot, she suddenly slammed on her brakes when she saw that the spot was currently occupied.

Who the _hell_ took her spot?

All the staff knew that this was _her _spot. They specifically left the spot empty just for her every time she had a shift. And now, she was only gone for a week and somebody had already stole her spot? Shit's about to hit the roof! Kairi mentally cursed the driver that took her spot and drove around the car park several more times while plotting the revenge she would inflict upon them. Mind you, it wasn't a very clean revenge she had in mind.

After 10 minutes of endless driving, she finally found a parking spot at the very end of the car park. As she got to the entrance she saw something new: it was a sign pointing to a new café called 'The Corner Café.' She looked down at her watch and saw that she still had half and hour before her shift actually started. '_Hmm.. I guess I do have time to spare,_' she thought to herself as she made her way down the West Wing, greeting those she met along the way with a fake smile.

Kairi finally arrived and pushed the door open, making the little bell chime as she walked in. The tables and lounge area was empty with the only people in the shop being the two staff members. One of the staff was a blonde short spiky haired man in smart casual clothes, showing that he was obviously the manager, while the other member also had spiky hair but his were longer and brunette, and he was wearing the signature green work uniform and a brown apron with a name tag that said 'Sora'. The blonde was currently sipping a small cup of coffee and gave a thumbs up to the brunette, while he fist pumped the air. Kairi smiled softly at the scene before her and walked up to the counter. The blonde suddenly noticed the new customer and ushered the brunette to serve her. She noticed that his hands were powdered with coffee and assumed that he was a barista. The brunette quickly put on a cheerful attitude as he started to greet her, "Welcome to the Corner Café! How are you doing today?"

"Angry." She puffed out her cheeks and narrowed her eyes. "Some asshole stole my parking spot!"

"I didn't know that staff had allocated parking here."

"We don't but everybody knows that this spot is always mine. There's none like it, it has a big tree that could shade your car." She banged her fist against the counter, making the barista jump back in surprise. "And now it's gone! Whoever that jerk is, I will find him and hunt him down!"

"I'm, erm," the brunette rubbed the back of his head nervously, "Sorry to hear that. Is there anything I can get for you that might make your day?"

Kairi anger subsided as she bit her lip and the menu hanging on the wall. "Umm, give me a minute. I haven't decided yet." She made eye contact with the barista and saw that his eyes were a deep shade of blue. "Is this café new?"

"Yep, we just opened yesterday." The brunette smiled proudly. "You are actually the fourth person that I'll be making coffee for."

"Oh no, no." She waved her hands in front of her. "No coffee, thanks. I hate it."

Kairi swore she heard a glass break in the kitchen as she watched the brunette's jaw dropped. "Excuse me? Someone hates coffee?! How is that possible?!"

"Coffee's all the same: it's awfully bitter and it tastes like death. I don't get why people pay so much money for something so horrible." She twiddled her thumbs mindlessly as she looked every else except at the barista's face. His ocean blue eyes were making her feel guilty. "Every time I order a coffee I have to put like, 10 cups of sugar to tolerate it. It's just not for me."

"Hmm." The barista moved away from the counter and started to grind the coffee beans into the filter. Then he tamped down the coffee, placed it into the espresso machine, put a cup underneath, and flicked the switch on. "That's because you always had bad coffee. Coffee can be really good if it's made right." He flicked the switch again and started to froth the milk. "Now, I'm not saying that my coffee is the best but my boss said it's exceptional and he has high standards, so," he winked, "it's pretty good."

Kairi raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really?"

"Really, really."

"How do I know you won't make me poison?" She asked skeptically.

He laughed. "I assure you, I will change your life forever. Do you trust me?"

She couldn't help but to smile towards the Disney reference. "I do." It was something about this guy that made her fall for his every word. "Well then, hit me with your best shot."

And for the first time since she arrived, his eyes lighted up with excitement. "Was that to have here or take away?"

"It'll probably be easier if it was in a take away cup."

"All-righty then!" The barista grabbed a standard sized paper coffee cup and held a marker to it. He looked up into her eyes. "It wouldn't feel like a real coffee shop if I didn't write your name on the cup."

"Isn't this a café?"

"Pfft, same thing."

She wondered if she should give a fake name before finally answering, "Kairi."

The brunette stared at her for a split second before writing on the cup with his tongue sticking out. He frowned at his writing before placing it back down and continued his work. After a minute, he presented her with a cup topped with whipped cream and a wafer with cocoa powder lightly dusted on top. The name 'Kyrie' was written on the front in barely recognisable writing. However, Sora was too proud of his work to care though as he handed her the cup with a smile from ear to ear on his face. "Here you go!"

The red-wine haired girl chuckled lightly at the misspelling but ignored it as she looked upon the beautiful creation before her. "This looks so amazing! I have to instagram this!" She grabbed out her phone and took a photo. "What type of coffee is this?"

"Ah, I can't tell you."

The girl pouted. "How much do I owe you?"

"Nothing." He smiled warmly. "Seeing the face of a coffee hater actually enjoying coffee is enough to satisfy me."

"I can't guarantee that." She felt her cheeks reddened. "And I can't accept something for free."

"I've already brewed it so enjoy it."

"But-"

"Kairi." The brunette's voice was stern. "Just drink the coffee."

Kairi froze at the sound of her name and gave up. "Thank you." She closed her eyes as she inhaled the scent of the coffee. It smelt sweet like chocolate. Maybe he accidentally made a hot chocolate instead? She cautiously lifted the cup to her mouth and slowly took a sip. And another. And a few more after that.

In the meantime, the barista was watching her with a big smile on his face. "So? It's good, right?"

_Absolutely delicious_. "It's okay." She replied. _'Crap, how is this is so amazing? It doesn't even taste bitter_,' she thought to herself as she kept drinking.

"Liar!" The barista smirked. "Your face tells another story."

She looked to her reflection in the mirror on the wall behind the counter and to her surprise, he was right. Her eyes were shining and she had a funny grin stuck on her face. She coughed and straightened herself up. "That was… I was thinking of something else."

"Sure. The taste of a coffee depends on the way you brew it. You can hardly taste the espresso shot, right? You said you hated the bitterness of the coffee so I chose to make a Hazelnut Mocha for you so that it wouldn't be as bitter. Isn't it amazing?" The brunette announced proudly more to himself than to the girl.

She took another sip. "It's average."

"Heh, keep telling yourself that."

"I've had better-" Kairi stopped as she realised her mistake. She just told the guy that she never had a good coffee and this was the best comeback she could come up with? Good one. She tried to smoothly recover herself by standing up from the stool that she was sitting on and looked at her watch. "Oh, would you look at that? It's time for me to go Thanks for the coffee!"

"You're welcome. I'll see you next time!" The barista waved to her as she started to leave. "And Kairi-?"

She stopped before the door and turned to face the brunette. "Yes?"

"I was the one who took your parking spot with the big tree. Sorry!" He grinned sheepishly and quickly ran into the kitchen as the cup from her hand dropped to the ground.

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**Author's note:** I actually hate coffee except for chai lattes. But hey, let's be real here. They are not real coffees. ;) What about you guys? Do you like coffee?

A special thank you to everyone who have followed and favourited this story. And a special shoutout to Miss Zenovia and Ken7700 for reviewing the first chapter! All of you guys are awesome and I'm extremely grateful :)

On a random side note: I lied in the previous chapter's author's note. This story will probably become the main story. Haha, surprise! :P

Thanks for reading and have a happy new year! Make the most of this year while you still have the chance! :) x


	3. The Day Riku Had A Taste Of His Own Meds

**Author's note:** This chapter was actually inspired by a true story between an airport receptionist and an angry passenger. It's floating as a meme somewhere on facebook and so, if you ever find it, read it! It's hilarious.

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**Chapter 3: ****The Day Riku Had a Taste of His Own Medicine**

Riku Turner.

24 years of age.

With natural smarts and a scholarship, Riku zoomed through med school and became a substantial resident. He has saved many lives with the first being when he was only 18 years old. Not only is his career set, he has no problem attracting the ladies. Luxurious silver hair, athletic built, mature looking face, turquoise colored eyes… _oh_ da_yum_, even the author of this story is drooling.

In other words, this guy was hot. And the worst thing was, he knew that for a fact.

Whenever he walked down the hallways he was always stopped either from female fans trying to take his photo or elderly medical staff members praising him for his work. Even in the 'Destiny Island's Times' he was featured on the front cover for being the next rising doctor. And of course, it wasn't juicy enough if the magazine had to mention that he was the hottest bachelor in town.

But like in most cases, he was a total ass.

That's right.

Rude, obnoxious, arrogant, vain, you name it. It wasn't that Riku was initially like this. His great success has gained him to be well respected by his peers that he knew that he could do anything and they would still idol him. Even as he treated the nurses like slaves, patients as experiments and visitors as annoyances, they knew that he would still get the job done in the best way possible. At times, they did feel patronized. But hey, if it were _the_ Riku Turner telling you to do something, you would do it. No questions asked.

However, Riku's high horse came crashing down on the day he transferred from the public hospital to the Island's Medical Centre.

Word had been floating around that the young prodigy was going to start working in the Centre and everybody was excited. It was from the tiniest details that the director wanted to make sure an impression was left on the young resident. For example, he made the medical staff take handwriting lessons and ordered the cleaners to make the beds with the pillow tag facing away from the door, as according to Riku, they looked ugly when you could see the tag.

Just like a movie star but without the limousine, Riku arrived in an ambulance truck, flashing lights and all. He had his stethoscope around his neck, white coat on with scrubs underneath, and a determine look on his face as he stepped out of the truck. He was with a patient just to make sure they were okay during the ride and quickly handover to the staff about the situation when they got to the Centre.

When he finally got to go on his break, his stomach growled for food and he followed the signs pointing towards 'The Corner Café'. Whilst ignoring the stares and points by the people he walked past, he made his way towards the West Ward and found that the café was literally at the corner of the overall Centre.

The little bell above the door chimed as Riku walked in and narrowed his eyes as he quickly observed the inside of the café; there was a long line of people waiting at the counter, with the rest of the customers enjoying their coffees at the tables or the lounge area. Some of them turned their heads at the new arrival but the majority didn't take notice and resumed their activities. Riku didn't like that. Did no one care that he, _the _Riku Turner was in this little café? He frowned. As he started to line up, his frown only deepened as he saw what was the hold up. The customer first in line was an elderly lady, whom had obviously strayed from her original order and instead spoke about what she had for dinner, while the barista was patiently listening to her and laughing at all the right moments when she claimed to have an 'elderly moment'.

After the third laugh from the brunette, Riku was fed up. He didn't have to tolerate this kind of service. And most importantly, he didn't have to wait. He walked out of the line to right behind the lady and coughed loudly into his fist, making both hers and the barista's head turn to him. "Excuse me, do you know who I am?"

The elderly lady gasped but the barista didn't bat an eye. "Who are you?"

"_Sora,"_ The lady stressed. "That's Riku Turner!" She slapped down the 'Destiny Island's Times' magazine she was holding on the counter and pointed to the resident's face. "This young man right here. He's-"

"The best of the best? One in a million? A rising star to fame?" Riku interrupted. "Take your pick. There's plenty more I can think of. Now move aside, old lady, I need to get my coffee hit."

As the lady was about to exit the line, the brunette barista swiftly placed his hand on her arm and held her back. "I'm sorry, sir, but I was not done serving this customer."

"Excuse me?" His eyes widen.

"I repeat, I was not finished serving this customer. Please go back in line and I will serve you when your time has come."

Riku narrowed his eyes. Who did this guy think he is? "I think you didn't hear me properly. My name is _Riku Turner_ and I _order_ you to serve me."

The customers in the café stopped their conversations and stared at the situation unfolding before them. But instead of being shaken up, the barista smiled widely in return. "I apologize again, sir. But you see, there are other people who have been patiently in line before you had even arrived in the store. I have to ask you to please get back to the line and wait for your turn."

"This is outrageous!" Riku raised his voice. "You can't tell me what to do. How dare you treat me like a commoner! I am _Riku Turner_, the rising doctor! I have places to go, people to save, I don't have time to be waiting in a line this big!"

"Sir, I need you to calm down and I'm sorry but I will serve you when the people in front of you has been served."

"No," the silver haired resident leaned over the counter and looked down to the brunette barista. He glared hard. "I demand you the service I deserve!"

"Then please get to the back of the line and wait your turn." The brunette repeated.

Fed up with the barista, Riku flailed up his arms. "I don't need this. Screw you!"

The barista looked him straight in the eye before replying calmly. "Please wait in line for that too."

A cheer rose from the customers as they applauded the barista while the silver haired resident's cheeks flushed in embarrassment and retired to the door. How dare _he_. This low-life thinks he can make a fool of him in public? What a joke.

Before Riku pulled the door handle, he stopped and turned his head back. There was something different about this place. It was as if the café was cut off and had it's own little world, away from all the problems and misery that people had brought with them when they came to the Centre. He didn't notice how heartwarming the atmosphere was when he first walked in, he had only focused on himself. But it was apparent that no one else did, even after the scene just minutes before; the elderly lady had remembered her order and was happily eating her slice of cake with her husband who had been waiting at a table, the line had been cleared with the last customer conversing with the barista as he brewed his coffee with a smile on his face, and the air was filled with endless chatter and laughter from the rest of the customers. Overall, the aroma of the café was glowing with bliss. And it was all because of the spiky haired barista.

For the first time in forever, Riku felt a stab of envy. He was hot, smart and successful. So, why did he feel jealous of the barista?

Conflicted by his emotions, he pulled the door open but before he left, he glanced back to the barista one last time. The brunette was currently talking to a blonde hair man while frothing the milk. He wasn't paying attention to the milk and a second later, the milk splattered all over to the floor, making the blonde man jump while the barista scratched the back of his head and gave him the biggest smile in return.

Riku chuckled at the scene. He quickly muttered, "bastard," and left without saying another word.

He can get his Mint Chocolate Mocha Frappucino tomorrow.

* * *

**Author's note:** Okay, so this is the last short chapter; the main story will finally get a move on in the next chapter woo! :D This means longer chapters, longer dialogue, but however, a much more longer wait for updates. I apologize in advance.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday with their loved ones :D And to my fellow Aussies if you are reading, please drink plenty of water and slap on sunscreen everyday! The heat is rising down here so be careful! :)

Thanks to Ken7700, SoraxKairi7, Malcolm Yuy and sukarettimay for the reviews on the last chapter! And to those who have followed and favourited this story! You are all incredible people :)

See you all next time on _Days At The Corner Cafe_ ;)


	4. The Day That Started It All

**Author's note:** Happy Valentines Day everyone! I hope you are all enjoying yourselves with your loved ones. The most I got was this guy texting me: 'hey -, have a good day being single :D' ... wow thanks man, no need to remind me LOL.

And so, 3789 words later...

Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 4: ****The Day That Started It All**

"I need a small flat white with skim milk and two sugars!"

"Coming right up!"

Make the shot. Froth the milk. Pour.

That was the basics of coffee making. And Sora just about nailed it… or so he thought.

As he carefully placed the cup on a saucer with two sachets of sugar he thought about the last few weeks he had been working at the Corner Café. Although he got the basics down, he still wasn't used to the large demand for coffee in the mornings. He called over for the light-brown haired waitress and handed her the docket. "Here you go, Aerith!"

The woman smiled in return. "Thank you, Sora." She put the coffee on her tray and carried it over to a table where a couple was sitting.

"Sora!" The brunette turned his head towards his blonde boss. "A small cappuccino, please!"

"On it's way!"

As the barista started to make the espresso shot, he was interrupted once again by his boss. "Sora, the next order is two piccolo lattes!"

"You got it!"

Not even when Sora finished frothing up the milk, Ventus returned once again. "I need a large chocolate frappuccino but hold the cream!"

"Uh, give me a second."

"Sora, where's the Cappuccino?" Aerith asked as she came to machine, her long thick braid swung to a stop over her shoulder.

"Right-" he quickly dusted the top of the coffee with chocolate powder and placed it on a saucer, "-here!"

"And the docket?"

"Um," he frantically scrambled through the dockets but found that it was no use. There was just too many. "I don't know! Just go around to all the tables and ask everyone if they ordered a small cap'."

"Aerith, don't do that," Ventus ordered. He quickly organized the dockets and slipped one on her tray. "Table 14, go!"

"Veeeennn," Sora whined as he poured the two coffees. "It's only-'' he paused to look down at his watch- "8:42am and there's just way too many orders! I can't make them all in time!"

"Stop complaining, you slacker!" Ven slapped a rolled up docket on his head, earning a small 'ow' from the younger worker. "This is nothing! Now, the next order needs one small skinny latte, one small cappuccino and a small white tea, please."

"Got it," Sora groaned internally and wrote a name on the large cup. He looked around the customers and held out the beverage for them to see. ''A large chocolate frappuccino for Mar-luck-see…ah?"

"It's Mar_luxia!_"A man with pink hair came out and snatched the drink out of his hand.

"Have a good day," Sora replied and went back to make the next order. ''Jerk," he added softly once the customer was well out of ear shot.

"Focus, Sora," Ventus warns behind him. "After the order for table 12, you need one babycino, one medium iced coffee with an extra shot, two small cappuccinos, one with skim milk and the other with almond milk, and one large flat white with four sugars. You got all that?"

The barista stared at him in disbelief. "You must be joking."

"Kid," Ven starts off. "There are times when I am absolutely hilarious and everybody is rolling on the floor laughing their asses off. Can you hear that?" He holds his hand to his ear with a wide grin on his face. He suddenly dropped his smile and made his lips into a firm line. "No? You don't hear anything at all? That's what I thought. Now suck it up and make that order!"

"Yes, sir!" Sora saluted and started to make the shots. "Ow!"

"It's _Ventus_!" The blonde unrolled a docket and placed it back on the machine before ducking into the kitchen.

"Here, I'll help you," Aerith offered as she put her tray down.

"That would be much appreciated," he replied. "Why is he such a hardass?"

"Because he loves his job. In better words, he loves to succeed."

"That doesn't mean he has to be so," Sora held the cup to his mouth like a microphone as he sang, "ruuuude."

"No singing!" Ventus called out from kitchen.

Aerith lightly chuckled as she placed the large order on her tray. "Don't take it personally. He's only acting macho to toughen you up."

"Macho? Pfft!" Sora held up an icy beverage and called out to the crowd. "A large mint chocolate frappucino for," Sora smirked, "Riku?"

The silver haired resident came forth from the crowd of people huddled at the end of the counter. "Don't say a word."

The barista held up his hands. "I'm not judging you. Nuh uh, none whatsoever."

Riku glared at him before leaving with his drink.

"Sora!" Ventus returned. "Next order is…"

* * *

After several hours of service the clock finally struck six o' clock, indicating closing time. Sora was placing the chairs up on the tables when Ventus entered the lounge area and sat down on the couch.

"Sora, come here for a second. " Ventus gestured him to the seat next to him.

"Um, yeah sure." The brunette sat down.

"Here," the blonde passed a can of soda to Sora.

"Thanks, sir."

"_Ventus_." The blonde emphasised. He sighed and then slouched back down into the couch. "I just wanted to say that I am, well…"

The air was filled with silence as the blonde started to drift into his thoughts. The younger man coughed softly in his hand to break the silence.

"It's just," Ventus started again. "There are days when it is super busy, like for example, today, and I have to be the superior. I can't be your friend and be easy on you all the time. Times like this my work side persona comes out and takes over me. My evil side per se. I call him 'Vanitas."

Sora raised an eyebrow. "O-kay."

"So when 'Vanitas' comes out, I just want to apologize in advance. I should have warned you earlier, but it's a good idea to throw you into the deep end so that you'll learn faster. And I know it's hard the first time around but you'll get used to it. No hard feelings, right?"

"Yeah, everything's all good, Ven."

He stood up and slapped the younger man's back. "You're a good kid, you know that?"

"So I've been told."

Ventus smiled. "Thanks, Sora. You can go home when you're done. Good work today, it'll only get harder from now on."

"Uh, thanks. Much encouragement." Sora stood up as well and continued cleaning while Ventus went back to the kitchen to the office. _'Such a strange man__,'_ he thought to himself.

As Sora finished up his tasks, he finally took off his apron and hung it on the wall next to the kitchen door, a daily reminder for him that he has finished work for the day. He said his goodbyes to Ventus and Aerith and walked through the medical centre to the exit. It was a good thing that the Corner Café was located on the bottom floor. He wouldn't know how to react if he had to take the lift with all the medical staff and patients everyday.

The door to the exit finally was in view and he stepped out of the building with much relief. The sun was still soaring high in the sky with no sign of setting anytime soon. '_Typical Destiny _Islands', Sora thought to himself and pulled his hood over his head. Instead of walking to the staff car park, he went straight past the sign to the entrance of the Centre and to the side streets. Now that his formal car park spot 'owner' was back, he couldn't find another parking space and was forced to park in the streets. Not that he was complaining though, it was free of charge.

As he turned his head to look both ways before crossing the road, he saw a lone figure standing at the bus stop. Her red hair was swaying in the wind as she stared into the distance looking out for the bus. '_What was her name again? It began with a K… Karmen? Karly? Kira?'_ he rubbed his chin and suddenly snapped his fingers as an imaginary light bulb lit up above his head. _'No wait, it's Kairi!'_

"Hey, Kairi!" Sora called out.

No answer.

"Kairi! Heeeeey!" He tried once more while walking towards her. Upon closer inspection, he noticed that she was bobbing her head slightly to the music she was listening to through her earphones.

Grinning, Sora slowly half walked half tiptoed the rest of the way. He knew he looked like a total creep but this was totally worth it. Once he was a hair's breadth away from the girl, he screamed like a banshee, "KAIRI!"

"AHHH OH MY GOSH, PERVERT! DON'T TOUCH ME!" Kairi stomped on his foot, elbowed him with her right arm and raised her arm to back hand punch him.

He quickly held his hands up. "Wait, Kai- ow!" In a matter of seconds, he found himself being thrown over and sitting on the floor.

"Don't even think about it, you lil' nasty!" She grabbed a spray bottle from her bag and started shaking it. "I swear I will use this!"

"Geesus girl! Calm down! It's me!" Sora pulled his hood down, revealing his gravity-defying spikes. "I served you at the Corner Café the other day, remember?"

"Oh crap!" Her eyes widen in realization. "I'm _so_ sorry!" She gave him a sympathetic smile as she held a hand out. "You look like a predator without your spikes and all."

"Wow, thanks," he replied sarcastically as he took her hand.

"I mean- crap, sorry that came out wrong!" She let go and cupped her mouth, making him fall back to the ground. "Sorry! Are you okay?"

He glared up at her from the ground. "Just give me a few more bruises, would you?"

"I'm _sooo_ sorry!" She stretched out her hand again.

"You swear you're not going to let go this time?"

"Do you trust me?"

Sora cautiously gazed at the outstretched hand before taking it and chuckled. "Don't steal my lines."

"Hey! You first stole it from Aladdin." She smirked.

"Touché." He hissed in pain as his back ached in pain and examine his limbs. He's definitely going to wake up with bruises tomorrow.

"I'm sorry about the predator comment too. You know when there is a shadow cast on the person's eyes and they know your name and they grab you from behind and-" she reasoned desperately.

"Okay, okay, I get what you mean." He cut her off. He noticed her backpack on the ground. "Where's that hot sports car of yours?"

"My baby is getting serviced this week. I dropped her off this morning."

"A week? Did you crash it or something?"

"No," she was a bit embarrassed to say this. "She's actually getting pimped. I'm putting in a new engine as well as new headlights. Oh, and a new paint job."

Sora let out a low whistle. "Wow. So anyway, what time does your bus come?"

"In-," she looked down at her watch, "-24 minutes."

"Hmm," he rubbed his chin and suddenly snapped his fingers. "Come on, I'll give you a lift home."

"Oh, no." Kairi frantically waved her hands in front of her. "That's not necessary."

"It's late and there might be _real_ predators lurking around. Like that guy." He pointed at a certain silver haired resident that was currently walking out of the Centre. He gave him a big wave but only got flipped off in return.

"As previously demonstrated, I can clearly take care of myself. You have the bruises to prove it." She gave a small grin. "The sun is still up anyway. Thanks but no thanks."

"Don't be so stubborn."

"Don't be so persistent."

They both stared at each other before Sora finally broke off contact. "Fine, be that way." He grabbed her backpack and started walking towards his car. It was an old car, with the paint starting to peel off at the sides. It wasn't the best car in the world, he admitted. Especially when you compare it to Kairi's hot red sports car but hey, it gets him to places.

"Hey, wait! What are you doing?!"

He ignored her cries and kept going to his destination.

"Stop, you!" Kairi grabbed one of her straps, making him turn around. "Let go of my bag!"

"Just accept the ride." Sora grinned and dragged her along with him. He got out his keys and unlocked the car.

"But-"

"No 'buts'. Haven't we had this conversation before?"

"I've only just met you like, once. I don't even know your name and you're already offering me a ride home? How do I know you're not some murderer? Or a real creep that will kidnap me and sell out my body in another world?"

"You're really skeptical, aren't you?" He laughed as he struggled to open the passenger door. Not once, not twice, but on the third try he finally got it and threw the bag in the passenger's seat.

Kairi only frowned in response and crossed her arms. She was not convinced at all. _'Oh boy, what have I gotten myself into?'_ he thought to himself.

Sora sighed. "Kairi, if I was a murderer I wouldn't have called out your name and crept up behind you. Instead I would have faced you upfront and be nice to you until you trusted me enough to look away, and_ then_ I would have gagged you with chloroform and throw you in my car. Actually, I would have hired out a van to do the dirty deed as this car is way too precious to be abandoned in a ditch somewhere. Paid way too much for her, you know what I mean?"

She rolled her eyes. "Well, you got the nice part down already."

"Come on, Kairi. You don't want to walk all the way back there, do you?"

Kairi looked back at the bus stop and back to the beat up car. In her mind, she was weighing up the options, fighting whether to spend money or get a free ride. The bus was public and there was a slimmer chance of it breaking down than the car she was currently looking at. However, it was indeed too far to walk back to the bus stop. She finally sighed and pushed her thick-framed glasses back on her face.

"That's what I thought," Sora said with a chuckle and closed the door for her. He re-entered in the driver's seat. "Laziness always triumphs in the end."

"Yeah, yeah. Just shut up and drive." She gave him her home address and a few moments later, he tried to start the engine.

They sat there in silence, listening to the sounds of the engine coughing. It was almost as if the car was about to collapse and die.

After the fourth attempt, she finally decided to speak up. "Having a little trouble there?"

"No, she just needs a-," he twisted the key again, "-little-," the engine finally roared with life, "-more work."

"She's pretty old, huh?"

"Yup, I'm actually her fifth owner. You might say that she's been passed around the block a lot." Sora turned into the main road. "And I can't ride her for too long either."

"You might need to warm her up first before driving her long and hard." She caught on quickly. "She has a nice bod', though it might be nicer if her top was down."

"Nah, I once slammed her into a pole and now she's a wrecked."

Kairi looked at the boy next to her in shock. "Oh crap! Did your insurance cover it?"

"Of course. Better to have protection than to risk it, right?" He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. "Though… her fluids are leaking now."

She giggled but gasped and widened her eyes as she began to recognise the landmarks in the territory they were driving in. "Quick turn left!"

"What?"

"_Left!"_ She pointed a parking spot in front of a shop. "Park over there!"

"But-"

"Do it!"

"Gees, you're so bossy." Sora swiftly turned into the spot and put the car into park. "So, what was so urgent that we absolutely must come here?"

"To get ice-cream!" The redhead mentally added a 'duh' as the shop had in front of it a huge statue of a man holding an ice cream with three different flavour scoops.

"I don't really like sweet things."

The girl gave an overly dramatic gasp as she stared at him in disbelief. "What! Not even ice-cream?"

"Nope."

"Come on, you have to try this flavour. It's the best!"

"No thanks."

"But-"

"No 'buts'."

"However-"

"It's okay, you go ahead. I'll wait in here." He turned on the radio volume louder and winded down the windows. "Go."

Kairi only gave him a shameful look before finally leaving the car.

Ten minutes later, she returned not with one, but two light blue popsicles in her hand. She opened the passenger side door and got in. "Sorry it took so long. There were all these school kids lining in front of me. But have no fear, I got them!" She flashed a wide smile and handed Sora one of the popsicles. "Here you go!"

Sora furrowed his eyebrows. "I told you, I didn't want any."

"Too late. I can't finish two popsicles by myself." She took a lick of her own popsicle. "Besides, think of this as payment for beating you up before."

He gave the popsicle a cautious glance before giving in. "I'm only taking this because I don't want my car to be sticky when it melts."

"Whatever you say."

"What flavour is this anyway? It's looks way too artificial to be normal."

"It's sea-salt."

"Sea- what?" He stopped mid-lick. "Kairi, if I wanted to taste the ocean I would've gone to the beach."

"It's not that bad."

"It's like rum and raisins." He gave her a serious look. "No one likes rum and raisins."

"Just eat it, would ya?" The girl had already finished half her sweet treat. "If you hate it, I will personally go back in and buy you another flavour."

To eat a little bit of ice cream and hate it, and then get another ice cream while hating it as well? Or to eat the whole ice cream by itself through agony? The dilemma of a sugar hater. Sora chose the latter. He took a slow lick from the bottom to the top and knitted his eyebrows together. "It's sweet… yet salty at the same time."

"Hence the name sea-salt ice cream." She rolled her eyes. "I discovered this when I first moved here since they don't have it back in Radiant Garden. Best discovery yet! Anyway, do you want another flavour then?"

"No I… I think I might actually like this." His face broke out into a laugh. "Your tongue turned blue."

Kairi took out her phone and examined her tongue through the self-camera. "One of the perks of this treat." She looked over to her companion. "So is yours!"

"Let me see." He took her phone and stuck his tongue out.

_Snap!_

Sora blinked. "Wha-What just happened? What was that sound?"

"You took a photo," the girl giggled and snatched her phone back. "You must've accidentally pressed the button."

He reached for the device. "Delete it!"

"No way!" She quickly locked her phone and put it in her bag. "I can Instagram this later! Or even better," she narrowed her eyes and gave a Cheshire smile. "Use this for blackmail."

"You're so cruel," he whined as he took one last lick of his treat before throwing the stick out the window.

"It's not like I _want _to do it," she grinned as he attempted to turn the engine back on. "Blackmail is more effective than bribery after all."

* * *

Kairi was disappointed.

She found herself staring at the front of her apartment faster than she thought would. During the drive back, the conversation between them flowed more smoothly and she had enjoyed the little quirks that they threw back and forth. Quickly recovering back to her cheerful demeanour, she turned to her driver and gave him a pat on the shoulder. "Thanks for the ride and the ice cream run. It was fun!"

"You're welcome." He smiled. The girl hitched her breath at the sight and a smile formed on her face as a reflex. "If you ever need a ride again I'll gladly give you one. I always finish work at the same time, same place, everyday."

"Would you mind if I get your number then? I-I mean," she stuttered as her cheeks became tinted with pink . "You know, um, if I-I ever need a ride I can just call you, and um, yeah. Not that I like you or anything."

He raised an eyebrow.

She mentally face palmed herself and started to wave her arms in front of her frantically. "I mean, of course I _do_ like you b-but um, it's okay if you don't want to. Giving me your number, that is."

Sora continued to look at her in confusion before chuckling. He held his palm upwards. "That's fine. I'll put in my details in your phone."

Kairi handed over her smart phone and opened up the page for a new contact. After a few seconds, she saw him clearly struggle as he was just staring at the screen. "Need any help?"

"No, it's just… I've never used one of these before. Where's the button to go down?"

Her mouth dropped. "Are you serious?"

"Yeah…?" He said unsurely.

"You press this." She lightly touched the screen. "See how it goes to the next space? Good job! You're learning technology of the twenty-first century. A+!"

"Hey! Don't judge me. I have one of the old models." Sora took out his phone from his pocket and showed her.

"Wow, your phone is a brick!" Kairi gazed at the phone in awe. "It's tiny!"

"That's what she said." He sniggered at his own joke as she gave him a playful push in return. He quickly entered his details on her phone before handing it back. "Call me, okay?"

"I will. Thanks again… uh…" she struggled for his name.

"After all this time you still don't know my name?" He grinned. "Oh well, look in your phone when you have a chance." He winded down the window and started to drive off. "See you later, Kairi!"

Kairi held her hand up and gave him a small wave. She watched him drive until she couldn't see him anymore and finally, looked down into her phone where his details were still on display. "Sora…" she read out aloud to herself and smiled before setting his contact photo as the accidental selfie he took of himself showing off his blue tongue.

* * *

**Author's note:** Truth be told, I would never, ever, _ever_ try a flavour called sea-salt ice cream in real life. It just sounds so... off putting... haha. I like chocolate. And cookie dough. Chocolate and cookie dough ftw! What about you guys? What's your favourite ice cream flavour?

Sorry for the late update! I've been traveling with my friends for the last few weeks :P annnnddd I also had trouble figuring out how to transition from short episode chapters to actual story chapters... if that any makes any sense... BUT FEAR NOT! I have overcome it and I will continue to keep writing to the best of my abilities :)

Special thanks to DatRandomOtaku, BlissfulNightRain, Ken7700, Malcolm Yuy, SoraxKairi and sukarettimay for reviewing the last chapter! :D

And thanks again to all you lovely readers who have followed and favourited this story!

No, really, thank you! Thank you all! :)


	5. The Day With The Hot Chocolate

**Author's note:** This is long overdue and I apologize. :P

Please enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 5:** **The Day With The Hot Chocolate**

Sora smiled in content as he ticked off several items in his mental check list. It was past the lunch rush and there were no customers around. He had finished all his tasks for the day and there was nothing left for him to do. Maybe Ventus would let him go early today? It was a good chance that he will, right? One could only hope, he thought optimistically. His eyes searched for his boss and saw the blonde sitting by a table typing away on a laptop. Concentration was plastered on his face as he pushed his glasses back onto his face. Stacks of paper was scattered around the table, leaving hardly any space on the table. Sora grinned as he walked over to his make shift office. "Yo Ven!"

"Hmm?" Ventus replied absentmindedly. His eyes stayed glued to the screen.

"What are you doing?" He asked as he looked over to see what he was typing. Spreadsheets and numbers were all over screen. It gave him a headache just looking at it.

"Taxes."

"I can do that."

"No." Ventus continued to type. "What do you want, kid?"

"I think I'm too good at my job. I finished everything I could possibly do." The barista smirked proudly. "Maybe you should promote me to a manager already and let me handle our finances. I'll get our job done twice as fast."

"Nice try." Ventus didn't miss a beat. "You'll make us bankrupt in a second."

"What should I do now?"

"Can't you ask Aerith?" The blonde tried to brush him off.

"No, she's gone."

"Gone?" The blonde finally looked away from his screen up to the brunette.

"She had to leave early to go to an appointment, remember?"

"Oh, right."

Sora shifted his footing. "So-"

The blonde interrupted. "Have you wiped the tables?"

"Yes."

"Cleaned the coffee machine?"

"Yup."

"Washed the dishes?"

"Of course."

Ventus glanced at the table next to him and an idea popped into his head. "Filled up the sugar bowls?"

"Y-" Sora started before stopping himself. How did he forget that? "... I'll do it right away."

"Good boy." Ventus smiled widely and returned back to his work. "There's always something left to do. Don't forget to wipe around it too. The sugar gets stuck to the bottom sometimes."

Sora sighed and went back behind the counter to get a tray. He thought he had gotten out of work but that doesn't seem to be the case. The black circular tray that Aerith carried for drinks was lying next to the coffee machine and he took it with one hand while he grabbed a wet cloth with the other. As he went around the tables he picked up the little sugar bowls and placed them on the tray. It was easier to collect all of them and take them to the back of the kitchen to re-fill rather than filling them up at the table.

A jingle from the bell above the door was heard and Sora smiled at the new arrival. "Welco-"

He stopped mid-sentence and his lips curved downwards slowly as he saw who it was. It was a teenage girl in a white hospital gown. Her short black hair was plastered to her face with sweat as she clung to the wall. Sora turned his head back towards Ventus, who nodded in response as he got up from his chair. The girl looked up and locked eyes with the barista. "Hi," she greeted in a small voice, her chest heaving with each breath she took.

"Hi." He replied. He put the tray down on a nearby table and put the cloth in his apron pocket before slowly making his ways towards her.

Her hand trembled as she held out a five dollar note towards him. She let go of the wall and took a small step towards him, her legs shaking vigorously with the sudden movement. "H-Hot chocolate, please-"

The note suddenly dropped from her hands as her eyes rolled to the back of her head. Before her head could hit the ground, Sora quickly ran forward and caught her in his arms. "Hey! Are you okay?"

"No... sugar…" she replied weakly with her eyes closed. Sweat was beading up on her forehead and running down her face.

"Ventus!" Sora called out. "Call for help!"

"I'm on it!" He was already behind the counter on the phone to the centre's internal phone line for emergencies.

The brunette looked back to the girl in his arms and swept her fringe back from her face. His face frowned as he saw how pale she was. "What's your name, girl?"

"X-Xion."

"Okay, Xion. You're going to be okay." He said to her sweetly as staff members from the hospital came bursting through the doors of the café with a stretcher in towed. "It's going to be okay."

* * *

"Some crazy day this turned out to be, huh?" Ventus thought out loud as he swept. "I guess you can never know what to expect when you're working in a medical centre. Even in a café."

It was past closing time and the two were packing up for the day. The girl was gone as the staff had collected her hours before. Sora stacked up a chair on top of the table as he mumbled absentmindedly. "Yeah..."

"I wonder how she got out in the first place. How could no one notice a girl in that condition?" He emptied the contents out into a bin. "Honestly, there's doctors crawling around everywhere."

"Mmm…"

"Oh no." The blonde picked up an item from the contents. He dusted the dirt off with his fingertips. "She left her money here."

Sora remained quiet. He couldn't focus on what his boss was saying as his mind took him back to the scene just before. The girl looked so sick and she took the risk to come all the way down to the café just for a cup of hot chocolate. He stacked the last chair on top of the table and looked at the coffee machine to the money in his hands. An idea popped into his head and he quickly walked back behind the counter towards the machine. He flicked it on and grabbed a large paper cup.

"What are you doing, kid?" Ventus looked at him in confusion.

The barista looked back at him, determination was flickering in his eyes. "You understand, right?"

The blonde stared back at him before breaking into a grin. He shook his head at the idea of what the barista was going to do and handed him the note. "Don't forget this."

Sora smiled widely as he took it and shoved it in his pocket.

* * *

Soon after, the barista was carrying the paper cup and a muffin in a brown paper bag around the East wing of the centre. His apron was still tied around his waist and coffee powder was stained on his palms, but he didn't care. He had a mission to complete. He stopped outside the nurses station and smiled widely as he saw a cheerful face. She wheeled herself on the chair towards him. "Well, hello! What are you doing here, Mr. Barista?"

"Hey Selphie." He greeted back. "I came here to deliver some goods."

"They better be for me." She teased playfully, her brunette curls bouncing with every word she spoke.

"Maybe another day. I'm looking for a patient named Xion? Short, choppy black hair, blue eyes and looks like a teenage?"

"Ah! I know exactly who you are talking about." Selphie took out a piece of paper and scanned it for her name. "And why may I ask are you looking for her?"

"She came by the café today and left her money. And food. I just want to return it." Sora replied sincerely.

Her green eyes lit up as she recalled the incident. "I see. What a good guy you are, you know that? It's lucky you caught her in time. Any more blood loss would've been bad for her."

"Why?" He frowned. "What's wrong with her?"

"That is a question you might want to ask her yourself." Selphie replied and pointed in a direction. "Well, go ahead and give her back her money. She's in room 358."

"I owe you one, Selphie." He smiled and turned away.

"Wait!" She called out, making him stop in his tracks. She lowered her voice. "She has family in her room at the moment. You might want to wait a bit. They can get pretty agitated, especially with what happened earlier, and you don't want to get in their way."

He nodded back at her, showing that he understood what she meant. "Thanks for the heads up."

"Any time. See you down there one day." She smiled once again and waved goodbye at him.

His eyes scanned each room number as he walked past them. The walls were painted a creamy yellow while the doors were green with the number plates located next to the door handles on the wall. He finally reached his destination and leaned against the wall next to the door. Yelling could be heard from the inside and he closed his eyes. After one single shout, he presumed to be Xion herself, the noise stopped. The door opened and a man and a woman walked out, distress clearly written on the woman's face. They didn't notice him as they made their way out of the ward. He pushed himself off the wall and stood by the door. While holding the cup and bag with one hand, his other hand was in position about to knock on the door but he stopped himself. Was this really the right choice? He contemplated his thought processes leading him up to this point. She probably didn't want any visitors, especially after what happened, and she sounded pissed. She was also a teenager. It was a recipe of disaster waiting to happen. And most importantly, he wasn't family nor was he a friend. He was just a barista at the Corner Café.

Sora sighed and remembered why he came here. He didn't warm a muffin up for nothing after all. He knocked three times and waited. A tensed high pitched voice came from the other side. "Don't come in!"

"Why not?" He couldn't help but ask. What else could he say in this situation?

"Dad, I don't want to see you."

He raised his eyebrows at the misinterpretation but opened the door anyway. The room was dark with the curtains drawn closed and lights off. A suitcase was on the chair next to the bed with its contents opened for all to see. An IV line was connected to her with a bag of fluid on the other end. The machine beeped every few seconds, its light illuminating in the dark. His eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness and he could make out a slim figure lying on the bed with her back turned towards him. She shuffled uneasily in bed and let out an angry breath. "I _said_ I don't want to see you, Dad! Why won't you leave me alone?!"

"Does it look like I'm your father, Xion?"

She instantly froze at the sound of his voice. Now that his voice wasn't muffled by the door, she realised that it was definitely _not_ her father she was speaking to. She prayed that it wasn't a murderer as she got the courage to slowly peek over her shoulder. Her blue eyes widened at the sight of her visitor.

"You sound a lot better now." Sora smiled softly.

"Who… who are you?" The teenager asked hesitantly.

"Oh, sorry I should've introduced myself." He stood at the end of her bed. "I'm Sora. I work at the Corner Café."

She nodded at his response. The atmosphere got tensed as he waited for her to say something - anything - but not a sound was heard. He cleared his throat and placed the cup and muffin on the table next to her bed. "Here's your hot chocolate. No sugar, right? I got you a muffin as well." He chuckled as she gave him a quizzically look. "It's warm."

"Why did you bring me these?" Xion asked in confusion as she opened the paper bag to see what flavour the muffin was; chocolate, her favourite.

"Well, you _did_ order after all." Sora grinned. "And I delivered."

Her cheeks heated up as she recalled the earlier events. "Oh crap! You're _that_ guy? The one who caught me?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Uh, yeah."

"Oh my god!" She buried herself in her blankets. "That's _so_ embarrassing! I'm just going to marinate myself in shame now."

"It's okay, seriously." Sora tried to reassure her.

"I'm _so _stupid." Xion's soft voice muffled out from under the blankets. Her head poked out from under the covers and her glossy eyes locked onto his own. "Don't you think so?"

Was this a trick question? Sora thought to himself. He felt like he was on a minefield right now; he had to be careful with his words otherwise she would explode on him. She is a girl after all. "No, I don't believe you're stupid."

"They told me to stay here in my room but I just wanted to do something for myself, you know? They treat me like I'm some fragile china doll that can't do anything anymore. I hate being stuck here in the hospital. I hate being confined to a bed. And what I hate most is," her voice broke, "I hate myself. Why did it happen to me?"

He went over to the side of her bed and rubbed her back. She was shaking but he couldn't help but ask the question that was burning in the back of his mind. "What do you have, Xion?"

"They said it is aplastic anaemia. It has progressed to such a severe stage that a bone marrow transplant would be the best treatment option now. They told us that the best donor is in your immediate family but," she gave a shaky laugh, "I'm adopted. Funny how fate plays out, huh?" A small tear rolled down her cheek. "It sucks big time."

"There's plenty of other donors."

"I know but I just… I just want to go back in time. Before any of this happened. I was going to be captain of the girls' soccer team next semester." She gave a snort. "Not anymore. I'm only 16 years old. I should be out celebrating my friend's sweet sixteenth or getting my driver's license. Anything apart from being stuck in a cold dark room waiting for a miracle. This wasn't supposed to happen."

His heart broke at the sight in front of him. "Xion, you can't give up hope."

"But _why_ me?" She stared at the line running from her arm to the machine, her fist clenching. "It isn't fair! I know there are plenty of other people around the world who are in a situation worse than mine but can't I be selfish for once? Can't I be angry? All I ever wanted to do was to tell jokes, laugh, and say dumb things. Was that too hard to ask for?"

"You still can." His voice was soft yet it still held a strong tone. "I understand that it's a difficult condition and it's a painful time for you but as a smart 10 year old kid once told me, you can't dwell on the past. All you have to do is look up and keep moving forward. There are still a lot of things you can do in the meantime while waiting."

"Pft, yeah right.: She laughed shakily and blew her fringe up from her face. "I can't even order a hot chocolate without collapsing."

"Yes you can. You're still a kid and yet, seeing you opening the door of the café despite the consequences of your condition proves to me that you are strong. I can tell that you are a smart, brave, young girl with a bright future waiting ahead for you. So, don't give up so easily and show me that strength again that I saw today. I know I can't help you with anything else but this is the best I can do. Or at least try to."

"Huh? What are you talking about?" She glared at him.

"You don't have to come down to us, I'll come to you."

"What?" She wiped her face and frowned.

"Here," he grabbed a nearby pen and scribbled on the paper bag. "This is our number. Any time you want a hot chocolate from 8am to 6pm give us a ring and we'll make whatever you want. It'll be like your very own personal room service."

Xion's anger died down as her eyes traced the numbers on her bag. "I can?"

"Why shouldn't you?"

"I-I don't want to be a burden. This condition has caused enough damage, I don't want to drag any more people down with me."

"Xion, don't think like that. You won't be bothering me." Sora reassured her.

"Seriously?" Her voice laced with doubt.

"I promise. Oh, and before I forget, this is yours. You left it at the café earlier." He held out the five dollar note to her and gave her a toothy grin. "Use it once you're feeling better and come visit us again. I'll be waiting for you. "

And for the first time since he saw her, she lifted the corners of her mouth into the tiniest smile. But that wasn't the most important thing. In the midst of the darkness, it was the glimmer of hope shimmering in her eyes that started to light up the room.

* * *

**Author's note: ** This counts as my 1667 words for NaNoWriMo, right? Haha.

In recent events, it's a shame I can't post pictures but I'll quote a picture that's been floating around Instagram:

_"It is not Paris we should pray for. _

_It is the **world**. __It is a world in which Beirut, reeling from bombings two days before Paris, is not covered in the press. _

_A world in which a bomb goes off at a funeral in Baghdad and not one person's status update says "Baghdad"._

_Pray for the world that blames a refugee crisis for a terrorist attack. __That does not pause to differentiate between the attacker and the person running from the very same thing you are._

_Pray for a world where people walking across countries for months, their only belongings upon their backs, are told they have no place to go._

_ Say a prayer for Paris by all means, but pray more; for the world that does not have a prayer, for those who no longer have a home to defend. For a world that is falling apart in all corners, and not simply in the towers and cafes we find so familiar."_

**Thank you. **


	6. The Day He Hit It Off With A Bang

**AN: **Oh dear. My chapter titles are lacking creativity haha!

Enjoy ;)

* * *

**Chapter 6: ****The Day He Hit It Off With A Bang**

_Bang! Bang! Bang!_

Sora looked up from the cappuccino he was making towards the ceiling. The dust from the ceiling were falling with every sound as the ceiling shook. He frowned. His mind wandered to what kind of mysterious beings maybe lurking on the roof top. It wasn't a bird. Definitely not a plane. He caught hold of the spiky blonde haired boss on the other side of the counter before he could disappear. "What's that noise on the roof?"

Ventus paused to look up as another noise shook the ceiling. "Oh! That must be Roxas."

"Roxas?" Sora raised an eyebrow at the unfamiliar name.

"Yeah, the builder."

"What- I thought we just built an entire café? What else needs to be done?"

"Well," Ventus rubbed his hands in anticipation, "I was thinking since it's almost summer we should get an outside area where people can sit in the sun." He pointed his fingers to the imaginary scenery at a wall where the plan would take place. "There will be tables there, there and there. The flowers will bloom, birds will be chirping. Can you picture it? It would be so beautiful!"

"I agree, Ven." A voice chirped up from one of the tables near the counter. "I would love to sit outside on a nice sunny day."

"Kairi!" Ventus smiled widely at the red-wine haired girl. "At least someone appreciates my ideas around here."

"Anytime." She returned his smile as she sipped on her drink. For the last few weeks during her breaks, her favourite thing to do was to come down to the Corner Café. The atmosphere was lovely, the staff was friendly, and plus, she definitely got her sugar rush. It made her feel energized to go back to work.

"Hey, I didn't say anything." Sora replied defensively but quickly turned to a customer and smiled as he handed out the coffee to them. He looked back at the blonde. "How long will it take?"

"Hmm, not too long. Maybe four weeks? Two months? It depends on Roxas, really." The blonde stroke his chin. An idea popped into his head and he beckon the girl to come over to the counter to him. "Hey, can I ask a favour of you two?"

The both of them looked at each other before Sora spoke up. "What is it?"

"Roxas just got back into the workforce and he recently moved to Destiny Islands as well. So, I was wondering if you guys can show him around some time. Maybe take him out on one of those ice cream dates you guys have?" He smirked as he saw the pink tint in Kairi's cheeks. "That's right. I know all about them."

"They are not dates." She huffed with her arms crossed against her chest. She quickly glanced over to the brunette, but he didn't seem to be affected by the statement.

"Riiight." The blonde continued. "Anyway, I'm too busy at the moment and he would love to do whatever you kids do these days rather than watch me do my finances. I would appreciate it very much."

Sora furrowed his eyebrows and leaned against the counter. "Only on one condition; I get promoted tom- hey!"

Kairi quickly jabbed with her elbow before he could say anything else. She ignored his cry of pain and smiled sweetly. "Of course we will, Ven. Oh, crap-" she looked down at her watch and threw her drink in a nearby bin. "I have to go back to work. Sora, go meet this Roxas guy and tell me all about him afterwards." She instructed – more like _demanded _\- the brunette. He nodded in response. "See you later! Bye, Ven!" She waved at the two and took her leave, the bell chiming as the door closed after her.

"Bye!" Sora called out nonchalantly as he returned to work. After sensing his boss looking at him for quite some time, he broke the silence. "What?"

"Nothing." He had a funny smile on his face.

"Tell me."

"You sure nothing is going on between you two?" Ventus wiggled his eyebrows.

"That's creepy, stop that." The brunette started frothing the milk as the next order for coffee came through. "We're just friends."

"A girl and a boy can't be "just" friends without some sort of romantic feelings involved." Ventus replied in a matter-of-fact tone. "It's an inevitable twist of fate."

"I guess we just proved you wrong."

The blonde smirked as he recalled earlier how flustered the girl was when he mentioned the word date. It was already starting to happen. "There's still plenty of time to change that."

"No, it's impossible." Sora replied, shaking his head. "Definitely impossible." He whispered the last part, only for him to hear.

"Whatever you say, kid." He rolled his blue eyes. "Before I forget. If Roxas comes by and wants something to eat, give it to him for free. He is building something for us after all." Ventus got up from the counter and started to walk towards the office.

"Yes, sir!" He saluted. He chuckled as he received a death glare from his boss. "Wait- what does he look like?"

Ventus turned around and grinned. "You'll know when you see him."

Sora was left in confusion as he watched Ventus' retreating figure. His boss could be so vague sometimes. But he didn't mind at all. In fact, he was starting to get used to his weirdness, enjoying it at times. It was one of the reasons why he enjoyed working at the café. He even started to use his nickname rather than calling him ''sir'' all the time. But it still occasionally popped up just to annoy him.

His mind didn't have time to wander long as a call from Aerith brought him out from his thoughts. "Hey Sora, I'm just running to the bathroom. Can you watch the register for me?"

"Of course." Sora replied.

She gave him a smiled in return and took off her apron before leaving the store. He started cleaning the coffee machine, preparing himself for the next rush of people.

With Aerith gone, it was only him running the café at the moment. Ventus was in the office if he needed him but other than that, he was alone. He had only been here for a few months but still, he felt nervous. What happens if a sudden rush come? What happens if he took too long for a coffee and there were people waiting at the register? Sora swore working at the cafe gave him more anxiety than his college exams.

"Hello?"

Sora looked up and saw the familiar blonde spikes at the register. He breathed a sigh of relief that it wasn't a customer but he stayed where he was. It was only Ventus anyway. "What do you want?"

"Er… a large mocha would be great, thanks." The blonde scratched the back of his head. "Is it possible to get a cookie as well?"

The brunette shot an eyebrow up at the sincerity in his voice. He wasn't usually this formal. "If you wanted something you can get it yourself. It's not like you own the place or anything." He chuckled. "And a cookie? What are you – 5 years old?"

"Um…"

"Ven-" Sora stopped himself as he finally had a good look at the blonde. From his previous black button up shirt and jeans, he was now wearing brown shorts and a white tank top. A brown tool belt with a hammer was around his waist, a hammer hanging out of it. "When did you change clothes?"

The other man widened his eyes in recognition of the name and gave a light hearted chuckle. "I believe you're getting me and my brother mixed up."

"Huh?"

"Let me help you out." He stretched out his hand towards the barista. "Hi, I'm Roxas."

Sora looked down at the hand before him and furrowed his eyebrows. "Y-You're Roxas?"

"Yup."

"And your brother is Ven?"

"Yup."

"Twins?"

"Nope, just a regular younger sibling."

If Sora could crawl away into a hole right now, he absolutely would. Now that he thought about it, his voice was a different tone than his boss; it was smoother. His built was leaner and his skin looked as if it was kissed by the sun, not burnt like the rest of the residents were on Destiny Islands. He rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. "Oh crap, I'm sorry. I thought you were Ventus." He took his hand in return and shook it. "I'm Sora. You guys do look alike. Like a lot." He let go and started to froth the milk.

"Don't worry, you're not the first one to say that." Roxas nodded in understanding. "It's awkward when all these girls come up and yell at you for disappearing in the morning without giving them your number."

The brunette widened his eyes at him. "Ven is a womanizer?"

"Biggest man whore in town actually." The blonde scoffed. "Not as bad as when he was in high school though. You can't imagine the look of shock our mother had on her face when the whole cheerleader squad showed up for breakfast the day after prom night."

"Oh, um, wow!" Sora's cheeks heated up. He was gobsmacked. Who knew Ventus had this kind of history? He finished making the drink and handed it to him. "That's… disturbing."

"Let's just say my eyes has never been the same since I was 12 years old."

He chuckled nervously. "No wonder Ven is so weird now."

"Heh, sorry," Roxas grinned sheepishly as he received his sweet drink. "Too much information. You probably don't want to hear these things about your boss."

"No, no that's okay." The brunette waved him off. His lips curved upwards as he rubbed his hands in excitement. "This is an excellent source of blackmail information. Tell me as much as you want."

"Well, in _that _case…" Roxas started and smirked as he started to tell the countless stories he had on his brother.

Sora's smile only widen as he listened intently to the blonde. He was beginning to like this guy.

* * *

"Wow, genetics are really powerful, huh?"

The two – plus the new guy – were sitting on the curb outside the ice cream shop like as if they were a couple of teenagers. Following Ventus's word, Sora did bring Roxas to their usual ice-cream hangout session. He thought it was better that Kairi herself met the guy rather than he tell her all about him. He was pretty crap at giving impressions of people anyway. After a lot of persuasion from the duo, Roxas had finally agree to try out strange new flavour they were raving on about. And the least to say, he was not disappointed.

The blonde raised an eyebrow suspiciously at her. That was the tenth time she had said that during the car trip to the store and he could see through her words. "You know," he flashed her a sly smile, "You can just check me out whenever you like."

The bright pink blush that spread on her cheeks was all he needed to see to confirm his thoughts. "I _am_ not!" She flustered, waving one hand in front of her while the other was holding her ice cream stick.

"My girlfriend won't mind. She's non-existent anyway."

She rolled her eyes and took a lick of her own ice cream. "You're really putting yourself out there, aren't you?"

"What can I say?" Roxas ran a hand through his spikes and winked. "Girls just love me. Don't deny it, _Kai_-_ri _." He emphasized her name in a slow, breathy voice.

Kairi couldn't help but shiver. She did admit he was good looking – no, _gorgeous _even. But the thing that was putting her off was that he knew this for a fact. And he wasn't shameless to use it as an advantage. "Sorry, but I have a very exquisite taste." She didn't expect him to be this full of himself but he was still a charming character.

"Actually," Sora interrupted and paused to take a lick of his own ice cream. "Kairi once told me that her prince charming would have blonde hair and blue eyes."

Her jaw opened at the brunette next to her. "Hey!" He was supposed to be on her side! But here he was, blabbing her life stories to some guy she knew for less than an hour.

"She also told me that she wanted him to sweep her off her feet and-"

"Anyway!" Kairi interrupted him before he could say another word. Obviously she didn't want the blonde to find out about the embarrassing traits she finds in a man. Or rather, her prince charming. "What brings you to Destiny Islands, Roxas?"

Roxas grinned at their exchange before stopping to think about his answer. "I guess…" His cerulean blue eyes looked up towards the sky thoughtfully. "I wanted to do something different. No, wait, it's more like I _needed_ a change from Twilight Town."

"You didn't like Twilight Town?" Sora asked curiously.

"No, there wasn't anything wrong. I love my home." Roxas waved him off quickly. He looked at the ground. "But something bad happened a few years ago. I… there was something I needed to get away from."

"Ooh," Kairi gave a low whistle. "Something or _someone? _Bad breakup?"

She regretted those words as she saw a painful expression flashed on his face for a split second. He quickly recovered and gave a cheery smile. "You could say that." He then gave her a toothy grin. "Are you jealous?"

She almost choked on her ice-cream. Whatever sympathy she felt for him just before was now gone as the sleazy Roxas returned. "Why would I?"

"Because I'm absolutely beautiful and you can't stand to see such a beautiful man with an equally beautiful lady?"

"Be careful," she warned. "Don't make me hurt you. I can be pretty dangerous."

"Well, that's good because," he winked at her, "danger is my middle name."

"Man, you're going to make me gag." Sora made a face. That was absolutely horrible. "You're making the rest of us look bad."

"You boys are bad enough already." She grinned as she finished the rest of her ice cream.

"That's what I like to hear."

Kairi ignored his comment and stood up. "I need to buy a jar of nutella." She suddenly declared.

"Wow." Roxas turned to Sora. "And you tell me I'm the kid."

"Hey!" She said defensively. "Nutella is the best thing ever. It's like it was handcrafted by the Gods and sent down to Earth for all the humans to have a taste of their wonderful creation."

"Kairi, you're drooling." Sora pointed to a spot on his chin, indicating the spot where it would be on herself.

Her cheeks turned a dark shade of red as she quickly wiped her mouth. "W-Whatever! Can we pop into the store, please?" She made a gesture to a shop five blocks away. "It'll be real quick."

Roxas got up as he too finished his treat. "Okay, let's go."

She looked over to the brunette expectedly. But he didn't budge from his spot on the curb. He looked up at the two. "Why should I?"

"Who's going to hold my bags?"

"You're driving us."

Sora blinked as they both talked at the same time. "Wow. Is that what I'm here for?" He frowned and decided to address the girl first. "It's the twenty first century. Hold your own damn bags."

"But I'm weak." She whined.

"And you guys can walk. I'm not wasting my petrol going somewhere that close. Look, I can even see the store from here." He told the blonde. "Don't be lazy."

"But she's weak." Roxas whined along with her.

"Hey, you're not supposed to agree with me!" Kairi slapped his arm playfully. "Sora, c'mon." She bit her lip and widened her eyes. "Please?"

Sora looked away. She wasn't going to make him change his mind, Nuh-uh.

* * *

"How much do you think I should buy?" The red haired girl asked him as she held up two jars; 1kg and 500g.

Sora was staring blankly at the two jars as his mind was somewhere else. He had no idea how they had persuaded him to drive not even a minute away and he was annoyed. His car was crap enough as it is. It took him longer to start up the engine than it would have taken them to walk to and back from the shop. The blonde had left them alone and went to another section to buy his own things.

"The 1kg one is more expensive but we'll use it more." Kairi thought aloud.

"Why do you need so much anyway? Are you trying to get diabetes?" Sora couldn't help but ask.

"How dare you. You can never have enough Nutella." She replied in a matter-of-fact tone. "That solves it. The 1kg one it is." She dropped the jar into the basket he was carrying.

"What a pig."

"Hey!" She narrowed her eyes at him. "It's for me _and_ my housemate."

"Oh, my bad. _Two_ pigs then." He grinned as held his arms up in defence as she tried to hit him. "Okay, okay! I'm sorry. What are you going to use it for anyway?"

"I'm going to grab a spoon and eat it straight out of the tub while watching Grey's Anatomy." Kairi replied nonchalantly. At his grim reaction she giggled and stuck her tongue out. "Just kidding. We're making crepes for breakfast."

"Nutella crepes?" He asked quizzically.

"Yeah, they are the best thing ever!" She exclaimed excitedly.

"But for breakfast?" They left the aisle and headed towards the cashier. "For a health professional, I'm pretty sure that's not very healthy."

"Well, what do _you _eat for breakfast then?" Kairi asked challengingly.

"I, uh," he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly with his free hand. "I don't eat breakfast. I wait until I'm at the café to make myself a coffee."

"And here you are, judging me on what I eat when you don't even eat at all." She smirked and threw his words back at him. "I don't think that's very healthy. Not at all."

"It's not like I _don't _eat. I just wait for a bit."

"And how long do you wait?"

"Two hours?" He grinned widely at her.

She couldn't believe his eating habits. "That does it. You're coming over tomorrow morning before work for some Nutella crepes." She declared once she finished paying.

"But-"

"No 'buts'!"

He sighed in defeat. First the sea-salt ice-cream, and now the Nutella crepes? This girl was on fire with making him try everything.

"I can't wait to see you taste the magic." Kairi rubbed her hands in anticipation. "Your whole life will change. Trust me."

"That's cute." A soft voice called out behind the girl. It was Roxas. He had paid for his items already and was looking for the duo.

Kairi perked up on his voice and looked to what he was fixated on. "Oh, this?" It was a small red knitted coin pouch in a shape as a strawberry, green leaves and all. "My housemate made it for me. It's a hobby of hers."

He shook out of his trance and grinned slyly. "Is she as cute as the pouch?"

She rolled her eyes. Of course he would ask that. "You're never going to see her. She's too innocent for you." They walked out of the store and back to Sora's car.

Roxas gasped dramatically once he got inside. "Me? Taint a pure innocent soul? Never! What an insult."

"Hey, I'm only doing what's best for her." She crossed her arms. "She doesn't need players like you in her life."

"Kairi, please. If anything it's me who will save her from the other players."

"I highly doubt that."

"I'll show you my guns if you really want to." He flexed his bicep proudly for her.

"Um, I'm okay, thanks." Kairi frowned as she pulled his sleeve down. "How you and Ven are related I will never understand."

"Actually, when-"

"Hey, Kai." Sora's voice spoke out, saving her from one of Ventus' adventures. It was the least he could do for her. "You're home."

She looked outside. "Oh." She didn't realise they were already at her apartment already. Time always flew when she was with him. "Thanks, Sora! Don't forget about tomorrow morning, okay?"

He rolled his eyes and rubbed her head, messing her hair up in the process. He grinned as he saw her response. "I'll call you when I get there."

Kairi swatted his hand away. "You better." She closed the door behind her as she got out and waved at them from the outside.

"Hey!" Roxas called out to her as he rolled down the window. "Can I come tomorrow as well?"

She turned around and gave him a firm look. She hoped this was the last time she would have to say this. "You're not meeting her, Roxas!"

* * *

Later that night, Kairi was lounging in front of the television in her pyjamas. It was moments like this that she enjoyed the most. Secretly, she was a closet introvert. No work, no friends, but just her and the television. It was absolutely bliss. She focused on the show that was playing on the screen, it was romantic comedy about a woman finding her true love. She smiled in content as she watched her leaping across a field to meet with the man she loved. Would she ever find love like that? She wondered to herself, dreaming about the prince charming she'll meet one day.

_Ding-dong!_

She snapped back to reality and got up from the couch. She opened the door expecting it to be the pizza man but instead a man and a woman she had never seen before in her life stood before her. They were both dressed in smart grey business suits, however, their eyes were puffy and tiredness were evident underneath. They wore a weary expression as they saw the girl. She frowned as she wished she wore something more suitable. "Yes?"

"U-Um," the woman started to speak and gulped. Anxiety was apparent in the lines on her forehead as sweat was starting to bead up. She looked at the man next to her in doubt before continuing. "Are you Namine Snow?"

"I'm not, sorry."

"Oh." The dishearten look instantly flashed on the couple's faces, making her own heart sink at the sight. "Sorry for wasting your time."

"Wait!" She called out, stopping them before they could leave. They turned back towards her. "That's my housemate. Do you want me to get her?"

The woman's face lit up as she gave a wide smile. "Yes, that'd be great, thanks."

"Okay, give me a minute. I'll be right back." Kairi told them before closing the door. She walked through the lounge room towards her housemate's room and knocked on the sunflower painted door. "Nams? There are some people here to see you."

A few seconds later the door opened, revealing a young woman around her age with medium wavy platinum blonde hair swept to the right side of her face. Her blue overalls were covered with specks of yellow paint. She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear as her own amethyst coloured eyes looked into her roommate's. "Who is it?" Her voice was like a crystal – delicate and clear to the point.

"They didn't say." Kairi shifted the weight in her feet. She had a bad feeling about the visitors but she couldn't put her finger on what kind of news they will bring. "They look like a couple of sad clowns. It breaks my heart."

"Aw, don't say that, Kai." Namine laughed behind her palm. "I'm sure they are just worried about something."

"Obviously." Kairi rolled her eyes. "They looked really serious though."

The blonde furrowed her eyebrows at the tone of her voice. "O-kay then." She wiped her hands on her overalls and closed her bedroom door behind her. "Thanks, Kai. I'll try to cheer them up, hey?" Namine winked at her. Kairi followed her to the lounge room, where the main door was, but sat back on the couch. She wanted to give them privacy.

Namine smoothed her hair, hoping to be somewhat presentable, and opened the door to the tired couple. She gave a small smile as she saw their faces. "Hi, I'm Namine. Nice to meet you."

The couple looked at each once again with wide eyes before the woman started to shake. The man covered his mouth with his hand and frowned. "You're Namine?" He spoke softly, almost as if he couldn't believe her.

She raised a skeptical eyebrow at their reaction. "Yes…?"

"Thank God." The woman sighed in relief as she tugged her husband's sleeve hard several times. "Honey," her voice laced with newfound excitement. "We found her. We finally found her!"

"Um," Namine could only blink as she watched the scene before her. "How can I help you?"

"Sorry," the woman apologised, wiping a stray tear from her eye. "It's just- we've been looking for you – _anyone_, really, from her family for so long. And you look so much like _her,_ I can't believe it."

"Like who?" She couldn't help but ask. Curiosity was pulling at her intently as her heart began to thump faster.

"Xion, our daughter." The woman explained. She tried to smile but her voice broke with the next few words. "Your sister."

And with that, Namine felt time stop. "No…" She had to hold onto the door to make sure she didn't fall as her legs started to lose feeling. "That's not possible," she whispered aloud to the couple, who only blinked back at her. Was this some kind of sick joke? They didn't look like the kind of couple to do that. Her eyebrows knitted together as she remembered that day all those years ago back in Twilight Town.

It was when she had barely started elementary school. The day when she had raced the next door neighbour's kid home – and won - to watch the new flashy cartoon after school. The smell of cinnamon was in the air as her mother had freshly baked apple and cinnamon muffins for an afternoon treat. She had thrown her school bag carelessly on the couch and sat in front of the television screen excitedly. But that wasn't the important part of this memory. She couldn't remember what specific show it was because all she remembered was the news report that interrupted the show. The look on her mother's face was engraved in her memory as she remembered asking her what the report meant and why _her _name was mentioned. It was the day she found out she had lost a sister.

* * *

**AN:** Sorry if this seems rushed, haha. The story had to get moving somehow :P

Thank you so much for reading :)


	7. The Day His Mouth Went Psycho

**AN:** Whaaaaa? Another chapter? Is your eyes deceiving you? Do you need to get them checked out? Nope! Not today. I am on fir-yaaah! Haha :P

Happy Thanksgiving to all you guys! Please send your leftovers down under! :) xox

_Disclaimer:_ I do not own Andy Griffiths 'The Day My Bum Went Psycho', which I got inspiration for this chapter's title!

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**Chapter 7:**** The Day His Mouth Went Psycho**

Kairi definitely was not a morning person.

She struggled to open her eyes as she thrashed around the blankets to reach over her bedside table, where her mobile was making a ridiculous amount of noise. Who the hell was ringing her this early? Her fingers finally reached the smooth surface of her phone and she peered at the bright screen. The first thing she saw was something with a blue tongue was calling her. What the heck? Her eyes finally adjusted to the light a few moments later and she peered into the screen.

_Sora Hikari calling…_

She groaned once again before pressing the 'answer' button. "Hullo?"

A chuckle was heard on the other end. _"Morning, sleepy head!"_

"What do you want?" Kairi moaned drowsily. He was way too chipper in the morning.

"_I'm outside."_

"Mmm..."

"_Did you forget?"_

She scratched her head and frowned. Oh, right. The Nutella crepes. She promised he would taste the magic. "No, no. I didn't." She muttered.

"_So, um, let me in?"_

"Sora, it's-" she looked at her phone screen before putting it back to her ear, "- freakin' five in the morning._ Five!_"

A sigh was heard on the other end and she could imagine him running an annoyed hand through his hair. _"You told me to come before work."_

"I meant at like 7am or something! This is ridiculous." She closed her eyes and laid back on her bed. Her pillow was just oh so comfy. Maybe she could "accidentally" fall asleep before he could notice…

"_Should I leave?"_

Her eyes bolted open and she sighed. Now she felt bad. It wasn't his fault. Not entirely anyway. She did force him to come over and didn't specify a time. "No." She yawned and kicked the blanket off of her. "I'll be there in a second." She hung up the phone and stretched out her limbs as she stood up. Her hand ran along her table once again, looking for her glasses this time, and she put it on.

Kairi shuffled her feet as she made her way to the lounge area. It was one big room connected to the kitchen, with the island counters dividing the two different areas. She went to the windows where the balcony was and drew open the curtains. It was still dark outside. Lovely. Just lovely. She smiled to herself. The good thing about her apartment was that the sun rose on their side, meaning that they would be able to watch it this morning while eating breakfast.

She finally made her way to the door and opened it, revealing the spiky haired brunette. He was leaning against the wall on the other side with his eyes closed. Bags were evidently dark underneath his eyes, obvious that this wasn't a time he would usually be awake too. His eyes suddenly open at the sound of the door. "Finally."

"Sorry, I was-" Kairi paused to think of a reason for her slowness but failed. "Actually, I have no excuse. This is just how I am as a human being. I don't function well when I have no sleep."

"Let me guess. You stayed up late watching TV?" Sora grinned slightly.

_Guilty as charge_. "No." She lied through her teeth and rolled her shoulders back, her muscles were strained from the way she was lying on her couch. It could be very uncomfortable sometimes. But the way the female lead on the show found her true love made it totally worth it.

"You know, too much stimuli before bed can be bad for you. Research has shown that when you watch TV before bed it can rev up your brain activity, therefore making you sleep later."

"Whatever." Was he seriously going to lecture her this early in the morning? She yawned loudly and opened the door wider to let him through. "Just come in."

"Thanks." He pushed himself off the wall. He smirked as he walked past her. "Cute pyjamas by the way."

"Huh?" She frowned and looked down at her attire. What was he talking about? She was only wearing a black tank top and _oh, _her blue cotton pants with cartoon dogs that had the word 'arf!' on them. Her mother gave her these for Christmas! She huffed and followed him into the apartment. "Make yourself at home."

Sora walked in and looked around her apartment. It was quite nice, actually. Very homely. He assumed the smell in the air was from the fresh daisies that were standing in a vase on the island counter top. He took a spot at the kitchen counter and looked at the frame that was standing near the vase. It was of her and another girl with blonde hair. Though they were dressed in formal dresses, their faces were distorted in a way Sora never knew was possible. "Who's this?"

Kairi looked over to what he was talking about and leaned against the counter. "That's my housemate." She lowered the volume of her voice. "She's still sleeping and I don't want to wake her up." Memories of the events of last night played in her mind. Her housemate had stepped outside after she answered the door and didn't come back in until well after midnight. From the sound of their voices she could hear from the inside, it seemed like a distressing matter but she didn't want to press her on the matter. "Can we please keep it quiet?"

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" He retorted in a teasing voice.

"Hey!"

"Shh! Soft voices, remember?" Sora reminded her with a smirk as he held a single finger to his lips.

"Anyway," Kairi emphasized the word to move the conversation to a different topic. "Let's start, shall we? Are you a strawberry or banana kind of guy?" She asked conversationally, grabbing the ingredients from the fridge. "Ah, can't forget this baby." She held out the jar of Nutella to him proudly.

"Banana." He replied without thinking.

"Oh?" She grinned at him as she looked at him from the fridge with a raised eyebrow. "Never thought you were _that_ kind of guy."

Sora coughed as he caught on what she was on about. She was trying to get him back. "Do you have any nuts too?" He smirked back. Two can play at that game. "I _love _to have something crunchy and _hard _to munch on. Don't you agree?"

"Wow," she started to measure out the flour. "You're starting to sound like Roxas."

"I don't think I can be as revolting as him." He grinned. "Just kidding. But seriously, his '"charm" is very cringe-worthy."

"Oh God, tell me about it." Kairi agreed as she started to whisk the batter smoothly.

"Do you need any help?" Sora perked up and jumped off his seat, making his way inside the kitchen space.

"Um, sure," she looked at the batter and then at the stove. "You can make the crepes while I cut the fruit. Remember to make them thin."

"What?"

"Make the crepes." She repeated slowly.

"Oh, okay." He was expecting something like set the table, or peel the banana. Not this. Especially when he had never done anything like this before. But he turned the gas on anyway and waited for the pan to heat up. "To be honest, I never thought you would let me in the kitchen," he admitted.

"Huh?" She glanced up at him from the banana she was slicing. "Why? I'm not that heartless. Besides, you kind of walked in here by yourself."

"I know, but," he poured a batch into the pan and swirled it into a circle. "Women can be so defensive about their territory."

A chilled tension suddenly filled the air as the sound of her chopping ceased.

"Sora," Kairi said in a low voice, a tone he had never heard before. He slowly turned his towards the girl and made a small shriek. He swore there were fumes illuminating from her head. The tiredness under her eyes was not making her look anymore better. She held up the knife she was holding. "Do you want to get circumcised?" She asked sadistically.

He gulped as he watched her cut the tip of the banana in horror. "N-No." A sweat dropped ran down his forehead and he pulled at the collar of his shirt.

"Good." She smiled in triumph.

Silence filled the atmosphere as both of them concentrated on their tasks. A foul smell soon filled the air, making the girl stop her task and looked over at the stove with wide eyes.

"Sora!" Kairi quickly walked over to the stove to overlook his crepe. It was completely black. "You burnt it! We can't use this piece anymore." She picked the crepe out of the pan and put it in the bin. What a waste. She widen her eyes at how big the flame was and turned it down to a lower setting immediately. "Why was the flame so high?"

"It's not burnt, just extra crispy." Sora shrugged casually. "And it wasn't cooking fast enough so I turned it up."

She ignored his statement. "That's why the crepe was burnt! You put it on a low setting so that the crepe is a nice golden colour."

"But it's so slow."

"So you don't burn it." She repeated herself. It was so temping to add a 'duh' at the end but she stopped herself. The lack of sleep was clouding her judgement and made her moody as hell. That wasn't a good thing when she was hangry – hungry and angry. But she had to be the bigger person in this situation. She narrowed her eyes as she discovered another realization. "Sora, did you even spray butter?" she poured out the batter onto the pan and swirled it around until it covered the whole surface in a thin layer.

"No?" He looked at her innocently. "When was I meant to do that?"

If she could face plant right into the counter, she would. But she had too much self-respect to do that. "Oh my God. That's it." She grabbed the spatula and jabbed his side a couple of times. "Out! Out!"

"Oi- hey!" He raised his hands as he tried to defend himself. "Geesus, you're so violent! Does the kitchen make you possessive or something?"

Sora swore he saw a vein pop out of her forehead. She started to hit him faster. "How dare you! Out of my kitchen!"

"Hey!" He grabbed her arm with the spatula and sandwiched her body into the corner between the counter tops. He stood towering over her pinning her hand above her head with their chests against each other. A grin spread across his face as she glared back up at him. "Try to hit me again. I _dare_ you." He teased challengingly.

"Kai?"

The two froze at the new voice.

Sora turned his head and he swore there was an angel in Kairi's apartment right there and then, but soon realized it was the girl in the photo frame. A young woman around his age with wavy platinum blonde locks in a fluffy white robe was standing behind the counter staring at the duo with wide eyes. A pregnant pause was in place as her eyebrows shot up suggestively at the position they were in. "Well, well, Kairi." She showed off her pearly white teeth as her lips curved into a sly grin. "You should've told me you were bringing a boy over. I didn't even hear him come in last night."

"No, um, wait! Nams-" Kairi's cheeks flared up as Sora let go of her. The last thing she wanted was her housemate to think of them that way. She wouldn't hear the end of it if she did. She became flustered and waved the spatula in front of her in several quick motions. "It's not like that! He's only here for breakfast!"

"And you're making him our beautiful crepes! You are such a sneaky little fox, oh you." She winked at housemate before giving the brunette a bright smile, ignoring her flustered housemate. "My name is Namine." She introduced herself, one hand on her chest. "What's yours?"

He was speechless. Awestruck, even. Her melodic voice was enchanting and the mere sight of her smile made him nervous. It took him a while to realize that she was talking to him. "Sora." He finally responded back.

She smile managed to grow even wider, ignoring his momentary absentmindedness. "Sora? The reason why Kai has been coming back late from work everyday?"

"Er…" he looked at Kairi.

"No!" The red haired exclaimed, a bit too quickly. With the firm look from her housemate, her cheeks started to heat up and she gave a sheepish smile. "... Probably?"

The blonde suddenly knitted her eyebrows together and she sniffed the air. "Wait, is something burning?"

Kairi widen her eyes at the brunette. "The crepe!" She had forgotten she had poured a batch. She looked back at the pan in horror and cried internally. The crepe was a dark brown. She pointed an accused finger at the barista. "This is your fault!"

"What, me?" He gasped dramatically with a hand to his chest. "You were the one hitting me!"

"Because you can't cook!"

"_Guys._" Namine's stern tone silenced the two as she walked over to the stove and saw the burnt product. She grabbed the spatula from her housemate and scooped up the burnt crepe before throwing it out. "It's no one's fault." Her eyes looked for the nearby pencil that was on the kitchen bench. She grabbed it and twisted her platinum hair around it before poking it through the majority of her hair, making a somewhat messy bun. "Let me handle the cooking. Kairi, you're in charge of cutting the bananas and strawberries, and setting the table. And you," she pointed the spatula towards Sora. "What are you good at?"

"Um," he rubbed the back of his head nervously. "I'm good at making coffee, I guess?"

"Excellent. Make us three mochas then." Namine ordered him as she poured the batter onto the pan. "The milk is in the fridge and the instant coffee and chocolate powder is in the cupboard."

"He's a qualified barista, Nams. He can't make amazing coffee with cheap ass crap like this." Kairi called out as she sliced a banana. "We might as well buy coffees from 7-Eleven."

"Do you have that little faith in me?" Disbelief was laced in his voice.

"First thing first, I'm the realest." She quoted in a sing-along voice, a smile was playing on her lips.

He scoffed at the remark. "Pft, please. Challenge accepted." He was stubborn as a mull when it came to proving people wrong. And he was definitely not going to let this opportunity pass.

The red haired girl gave him a testing look. "We don't even have the proper equipment."

An idea popped in his head as he flashed her a wide smile. "Don't worry, Kairi. I don't need one. Now, Namine, do you have a mason jar somewhere?" He asked the blonde as he got out the milk.

"Yeah, hold on, I'll get it for you." Namine left the stove and opened a cabinet, grabbing the glass jar. She handed it to him with raised eyebrows. "What are you going to do with this?"

"You'll see." He winked at the two girls while pouring the milk into the jar. "Prepare to be amazed, ladies."

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Namine stared at her creations proudly with her hands on her hips.

Two strawberry Nutella crepes and one banana Nutella crepe with extra nuts - with Kairi prompting that Sora liked more nuts than usual - topped with icing sugar. There was even enough batter to make a small Nutella crepe cake. _Damn,_ she was on fire this morning. Or maybe cooking served as a distraction from last night? She couldn't tell.

"Sora, please, sit here." She prompted warmly as she gestured to a seat next to Kairi at the square table in the living room. "Help yourself to whatever you need."

The brunette thanked her and placed a coffee mug each in front of the two girls and himself respectively before sitting down. Each mug were filled to the brim with milk froth and coated with a layer of chocolate powder. He looked at the food laid out in front of him and smiled. "This looks beautiful, Namine."

"Yeah, thank you, Nams!" Kairi took out her phone to take a photo of the meal.

"No, it's okay." The blonde waved her hand dismissively. "But we should thank Sora for the coffee, which is delicious by the way. How did you know to use a glass jar to froth the milk?"

Sora felt his cheeks heat up slightly at the compliment. He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Just something my boss told me once." He picked up his fork and was about to stab a piece of his crepe but instead got his hand slapped away. "Hey! What gives?"

The red head shot him a glare before glancing back at her phone screen. "I'm not done yet."

"Doing what?"

"Taking a photo." She stuck her tongue out. "It has to be perfect."

"Take a photo of your own food, not mine."

"But it's part of a set!"

"Or you just want to appear to have friends," Sora rolled his eyes, ignoring the 'hey!' from the red head. He turned to the blonde, "Is she always like this?"

She gave him an apologetic smile. "Unfortunately."

Kairi stood up and angled her phone so it was facing straight down in a bird's eye view towards the food. He groaned. "Kairiiii," he whined after the tenth click. "Are you done yet?"

"Almost." With one final shutter, she put her phone away and gave the brunette a wide smile. "You may feast now."

"Thank God. I thought I was going to die of hunger," he picked the piece up with his fork and placed it in his mouth. After the first bite, he stopped.

The two girls looked at him expectedly. "Well…?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Well, what?"

"Is it good?" Kairi asked, a bit too excitedly. She was so sure that she was right, but she wanted to hear him say it for himself.

Sora thought, trying not to give his answer away on his face. He never really ate breakfast so, he didn't know what to expect. When he first heard it was going to be crepes, he thought it was a joke. But now, he knew he was going to start eating breakfast from now on. The crepes were just too damn good. Not only did he tasted the magic, he could literally feel fireworks going off in his mouth. It was like a party! His mouth was going totally crazy with the new taste exploding with flavour. Chocolate, banana, nuts, _damn_, was there anything else he could ask for? He chewed slowly just to annoy the red head even more, her eyes never left him.

"So…?" The anticipation was killing her.

"It's- it's…" he stopped to chew another piece in his mouth. He chuckled at her reaction. Such a child. She was literally bouncing on her chair waiting for his answer. "It _is _..."

"Sora!"

"It's amazing!" Sora finally said with his mouth full. He gave a thumbs up to the blonde. "Good job, Namine."

"Yasss!" Kairi cheered and fist pumped the air. "I told you so!"

"But it's a bit of a girly treat for me." He replied and widen his eyes in realization. "I just risked my dodgy car breaking down to eat a girl's snack."

"'Are you _still_ mad about yesterday?" Kairi rolled her eyes as started eating her own crepe. "Who cares? As long as it tastes good, that's all that matters, right?"

"Wait, Kai-" Namine couldn't help but ask. "I thought your car was fixed months ago? Why are you still getting a lift with Sora?"

The two looked at each other with blank stares. They weren't entirely sure either. "That's true." Sora gave her a funny smile. "We should be taking _your _car from now on!"

"What? Why my baby?" Kairi replied defensively.

"Um, you've been riding on my girl for way too long. She's down to her last few runs." Sora said in a matter-of-fact tone. "Plus, your baby has more power than mine."

"I don't think so." She crossed her arms and took a deep breath to prepare herself for the debate they were about to have.

Namine smiled warmly as she watched the two exchange quick quirks and whatnot with each other. She was eating her own meal in peace, joining in when appropriate, and noting the sunrise as its rays shined through the window. But otherwise she felt like just another figure at the table. Not that she minded, though. She had a mission to complete, after all. When Kairi excused herself from the table to get ready for work, she took the chance to drill down Sora. It wasn't everyday that her best friend brought a guy to their apartment and it was her duty as her best friend to make sure the said guy was not a serial killer. "Did you enjoy the meal, Sora?" She started off as she laid her head on her palm, with her elbow on the table.

"Ah, yes. It was really nice, thanks." The spiky brunette smiled back as he wiped his mouth with a napkin. "You're a natural cook." A _ding _went off in her head as she mentally gave him a brownie point for the compliment. "Are you a chef?"

"Nope," she laughed behind her palm at the thought. "I'm an architect."

He shot his eyebrows up. "No way!"

"It's true," she tucked a loose strand of hair that fell from her bun behind her ear. "You make good coffee for instant coffee. I'm guessing you're a barista?"

"Heh, you got me," he chuckled. He was more reserve with her, but she brushed it off using the excuse that they didn't know each other as well as he and her housemate did. It was their first proper conversation, anyway.

"How old are you?" She was in full throttle now. No more easy talk.

"22." He replied just as quick.

"Any current girlfriends or wives?"

"Nope."

"Children?"

"None that I know of."

"Where did you go to High School?"

"Destiny Islands High."

"Ah." She felt a pause in their conversation but she quickly pushed it away. "So, how did you and Kairi meet then?"

"She came to the café one day and I made her a drink, and then we started hanging out ever since." He explained briefly. He had a suspicion that this girl did her research and found out all the details from Kairi beforehand. Even though she didn't he was coming over today, she did know who he was once he mentioned his name. But as they kept talking, it felt as if she didn't want him to find out that she knew him.

"You were the one who made Kairi start drinking coffee, right?" Namine leaned forward on her elbow.

"Probably?" Sora assumed and narrowed his eyes. She did mention that she hated coffee on the day that they met and ever since then she hasn't complained once about her drinks. He sipped on his coffee slowly.

"That's amazing, really. Kairi is so stubborn that you must mean something to her to make her change her mind." She sweet talked around the topic, hoping she wasn't that obvious.

"I hope so." He shrugged casually.

"Oh, yeah?" That piqued her interest.

"I do like her, after all." Sora sipped his drink again.

She widen her eyes at the new piece of information. This is what she was waiting for! But she didn't expect it to slip out so easily. "Then, why-"

"As a friend." He interrupted her abruptly, placing heavy emphasis on the last word. He smirked once he saw the frown on her face. "I know what you're doing and it won't work."

She recovered smoothly and crossed her arms. "What are you talking about?"

"Look," Sora leaned in and spoke in a low tone. "I know you are trying to source out as much information as possible because it's a girl thing to do and girls love sweet juicy gossip. Especially if a guy is involved. And you're a good friend, really. I'm glad Kairi has someone like you to look out for her. But you won't get much out from me by doing that. Trust me." He had enough experience of this in the past and it annoyed him when someone did it to him. He had hope that Namine wouldn't be another of those girls like _she _was_, _but here they were. "Plus, you already know me, don't you?"

Namine set her lips in a grim line. How was she supposed to reply to that? He was right though, she did know him from Kairi's stories. "Only from what she tells me," she admitted hesitantly. Realization dawn on her as she plucked out the reason why he was acting like this from his words. "Are you angry at her then?"

"No." He shook his head and chuckled. "I don't think she can keep her mouth shut at all. But, if you want to know me then _get_ to know me, otherwise this is just a waste of time." He said calmly. "Not from other people, not because you have to, but genuinely because you want to."

"I see." His words lingered in her mind as she nodded slowly. However, one daunting thought was stuck on her mind. "Can I ask one last thing then?"

This time, it was his turn to cross his arms. "Shoot."

She breathed in deeply before taking a stab in the dark. "Why are you afraid of love?"

A painful expression flashed on his face for a split second before he closed his eyes and contemplated on his answer. That was all she needed to see to confirm her thoughts. "Why do you think that?" He breathed out softly. Out of everything, this was the last question he expected.

"Because," she gave him a sad smile. "We are the same."

He furrowed his eyebrows as he saw the flash of emotion shooting throughout her face. In a way, she was correct, however, hers was on a different level. It was more severe, _hurt _and _betrayal_ were displayed prominently. He didn't have time to respond to her as the sound of a door opening made them freeze on the spot.

"Hey, Sora-" Kairi called out cheerfully, her presence came back gracefully into the lounge room, breaking the trance the two were in. Her hair was tied up in a high pony tail and she was wearing a fitting white blouse and a navy blue skirt. "I was thinking we should go to Merlin's House on Friday night. I feel like he would like it there. I mean, his "charm" is busting to be released and there's a lot of chicks who might dig that. What do you think?"

The tension that was in the air instantly broke when the red head arrived. Sora leaned back, not realizing how close he was to the blonde, and scratched his chin. "That's the pub, right? I think I saw it on my way here." He relaxed and his demeanor went back to normal, as if the previous conversation didn't effect him at all.

"Yup!" Her breath was minty fresh could be smelt when she sat back down at the square table next to him. She bent down, trying to put her black flats on.

"I don't want him throwing up in my car if he gets drunk. He looks like a heavy drinker." Sora made a face.

"I could say the same about you." She poked his bulging stomach teasingly.

"Excuse me," he swatted her hand away defensively. "This is a _food _baby, thank you very much."

"Looks like he's going to pop any second."

"Don't worry," Sora grinned and winked at her. "I'll let you when he "pops", if you know what I mean."

"Who's this?" Namine spoke out a bit too late, referring to the previous topic. She had zoned out and snapped back to reality, lost in the conversation as the two got side tracked. She stood up slowly to clear the table.

"Sorry," Kairi gave her housemate an apologetic look, forgetting she was there for a moment. "Sora's boss wants us to take his brother around town since he's new. Oh!" An idea popped into her head. "Do you want to come, Nams? The more the merrier."

The blonde opened her mouth to speak, but the barista beat her to it. "Namine wouldn't want to come to a pub, would you?" He looked over at her. Honestly, she didn't strike him as the type of girl who would drink. Or party. Or anything rebellious, really. She was too angelic.

"No, I'd _love_ to come." Namine gave him a challenging look as she defied him. She could definitely use a drink after the confrontation last night. "It looks good and I want to know more about you, Sora." She smiled, genuinely this time, at him as she came around to clear his plate. "I really do."

Sora looked at her for a moment, trying to figure out if there was an ulterior motive or if she was saying that to spite him. He found none and his own lips curved upwards at her response. "Me too." Despite his earlier mindset, he knew he'd give her another chance anyway. It wasn't that he was too nice or too easy, he just couldn't hold a grudge. He believed that there was always some kind goodness in people, no matter what the situation was.

On the other side of the table, Kairi smiled at the exchange, oblivious to whatever strange behavior was going on, and became even more excited for Friday. Her best friend and guy friend was getting along so well. She declared it was going to be a great outing.

* * *

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**AN:** I hope that wasn't _too_ confusing between Sora and Namine. The hidden implications had to be somewhat subtle but I mean, it probably could have been written in a much better and clearer way. However, I am only human who is prone to many mistakes (too many if you ask me!). PM me if you are though and I will happily answer them :)

Lately, I don't know if you guys have noticed but I've been trying to increase the average word count for each chapter to 4000+ words. I swear my heart stopped when Word froze as I was about to finish this. Why did no one tell me that this was such a struggle? There's only so much grinning one character can do. And the many, many dialogue... dear God. This chapter originally had other scenes like how Sora froth the milk with a glass jar and something about Riku (haha, who missed this old man?) but I cut some of them to be in the next chapter. Expect it soon!

I'd like to personally thank Justin Bieber, Ed Sheeran, and the YouTuber who made the 1 hour loop of '**Love Yourself'**. Haha, please don't judge me for being a lazy ass and not downloading it on iTunes. It served its purpose and got me through this chapter... and the next two. Tee hee hee :P But really, everyone should go listen to this song. I believe that JB only has a handful of good songs, and this is one of them.

Okay, I'll stop now.

**Thanks for reading guys! See y'all next time ;)**


	8. The Day Before The Storm

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**Chapter 8: The Day Before The Storm**

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"Good morning, Xion!"

Xion stopped looking outside the window and turned her head towards the door. Her lips curved upwards as she saw her visitor, or more specifically, what he brought with him. He was holding a large paper cup and brown bag in both hands. A chocolate-y smell in the air entered her senses, making her mouth water instantly. "Hey."

The brunette closed the door behind him gently. He made his way towards the side of her bed and handed her the drink. "How are you feeling?"

"Much better." She happily accepted the drink and took a sip of her hot chocolate. She let out a satisfactory 'ahh' after and smiled in content. "Much better indeed."

"You're such a kid." Sora replied curtly. "You should try something strong like coffee."

"Blegh!" She made a gagging noise and scrunched up her face into a disgusted expression. "Don't make me throw up from that poisonous drink."

He laughed as he remembered the day a few months ago when Kairi had said something similarly. He smiled at the memory. "You won't say that when you're in college. It'd be your new best friend."

"Never ever will that happen." Xion declared strongly.

"Whatever. Don't say I didn't tell you so." Sora grinned, looking around her room. The curtains were drawn open, allowing the light from the morning sun to shine through. "So, I was wondering when you would finally call."

She turned her head away from him, hiding the light blush that was spreading on her cheeks. "I felt bored and I wanted a hot chocolate. You guys were the only coffee shop around here who would do home deliveries, so, don't think much of it, okay?" She replied curtly.

Sora flashed a smirk at her. She was really stubborn. "Bored in a hospital? Why am I not surprised?" He sat at the end of her bed and flipped open a nearby colourful magazine that was on the table. "You have some nice stuff to read here," he looked at the front page and raised his eyebrows, "Wait - GIRLZ of Destiny Island?! What kind of publisher lets a teenage magazine have a name like this? It sounds like a trashy porn novel!"

Xion whipped her head back towards him, her cheeks reddening by the second. When the hell did he take that? "Hey!" She tried to reach over him towards the magazine nut he was too tall for her. "Give it back!"

"I think we have uncovered your secret! Xion is a dirty little teenage girl! Who knew?" He chuckled as he leaned the other way away from her and flipped through the pages. His eyes caught sight of a flashy page with multiple boxes. "Hmm… oh! I found a quiz! 'How to tell if he likes you.' Should we do that, Xion?"

"No!" She exclaimed, a bit too quickly. "Just give it back, you ass."

"First question: does his eyes linger on you for more than five seconds when he talks to you?" He looked up at her expectedly, ignoring her cries.

Her fingertips scraped the pages. "Oh my God, Sora."

"Yes or no?"

She finally grabbed hold of a few pages and snatched the magazine back, holding it to her chest protectively. "You're like, so annoying!"

"I'm assuming that's a 'no' then." He chuckled. His eyes soften at her as he watched her put away the magazine in the drawer next to the bed. From the last time he saw her, she looked so vulnerable, emotionally and physically. But now, she was alive with fire.

"What?" She noticed his gaze – which lasted for more than five seconds she noted– and she frowned. "Anymore staring and I'm going to report you for sexual harassment."

Sora gave her an incredible look. "Xion, please. I'm not interested in underage girls who are not fully developed."

"Ew!" She cried defensively and crossed her arms over her chest. Even though she was wearing a gown, she felt she needed a bit of extra coverage."You're such a pervert!"

He rolled her eyes at her overreaction. '_Such a teenage drama__ queen_,' he thought to himself. "I was just thinking that you have so much energy since I saw you last time. It's good to see that." He smiled. "Really good."

"Well- I," Xion started to throw whatever quirk that first came to her mind but stopped as she saw how warm his smile was. He wasn't messing with her anymore. "I… I took a few days to think about what you said and well, you're right." Her eyebrows relaxed from the frown they were in as she looked out the window wistfully. "I still want to do more stuff in the future. Like get drunk, have a boyfriend, and fall in love. That will all be worth it, right?"

"...Sure." He confirmed hesitantly before readjusting his position on the bed. He couldn't guarantee that all of the items on her list were as amazing as she thought it would be but he didn't want to let her down.

"So, I'll wait. I can be strong. And besides, it's no fun to sulk around all day. The nurses keep thinking I'm PMSing, you know? They offer me Panadol everytime they check up on me." She chuckled as she continued. "I don't want my parents to worry about their moody teenage daughter as well. That's a whole 'nother can of worms."

The brunette remembered the faces of the couple in the smart grey business suits who left her room the day he visited her for the first time. Though they may have looked angry, he could tell they were extremely worried for their daughter as lines of anxiety were evident on their foreheads and their clothes were extremely crinkled. They looked like they hadn't gone home for days. "Are they here today?" He asked the teenager.

She shook her head. "They are at work right now. They'll be back later tonight, though."

"How are they coping?"

"You know, worried, stressed, and not telling me anything at all." She huffed and laid back on her bed, crossing her arms behind her head. "They still treat me as if I was a child."

"Like any parent would, I suppose." Sora nodded understandably. "They just want to make protect you."

"I know that." And she meant it. She may only be 16 years old, but hell, she was able to understand the situation and take whatever shot back at her. Even if it meant the worst. "But we shouldn't be hiding stuff from each other, right? We're a family. It's like they think I'm too vulnerable, but I'm not. I'm perfectly capable of anything."

A knock on the door interrupted and soon a timid head poked in. "Xion? Oh," the nurse perked up as she noticed the brunette, not expecting him to be there. "I didn't know you had a visitor."

"That's okay. This is Sora, he's good." Xion introduced him to her nurse, motioning him with her hand casually.

"Nice to meet you." She smiled before stepping in the room and facing the teenager. "Xion, the doctor is ready to review you."

"Ugh." Xion made a face. "Not again. They are so boring."

"Sorry, hun, I know. But I'm afraid you still have to be reviewed." The nurse gave a sympathetic smile to the girl.

Sora took it as a sign to leave. "Alright, time for me to go." Standing up, he wiped his hands on his apron, a reminder that he still had his own work to do. "Be a good girl and listen to your nurse, okay?" He teased her before winking at the nurse.

Xion rolled her eyes and flashed him one last smirk. "Don't tell me what to do."

* * *

If this is what it felt like to be in a zombie apocalypse movie then Kairi was definitely living it. And no, she wasn't the hero that saves the survivors from the brain-eating monsters. Unfortunately, she was starring as the zombie.

The red head slowly trudged her way through the halls of the medical centre while holding her folder loosely against her chest, ignoring the stares she received from the passing patients and staff members. Her feet wasn't even lifting off the ground, they were sliding along the carpet. She prayed that no one would touch her as she didn't want them to get electric shocked from the static of the carpet. It was her own fault for feeling this way, anyway. Her favourite show had a marathon throughout the whole night and she couldn't help but to stay up and watch it. It was basically calling out to her!

"Hey Kairi!"

Kairi turned her head back to look at the person who called her out and grinned back. "Selphie." She shielded her eyes from the radiance that was glowing off her friend's body. She was way too chipper for her own good.

"Isn't today a beautiful day?" The brunette clicked her tongue before observing her even closer. "Aw, what's wrong?" She asked in concern. However, her voice still held that cheerful tune as she walked along with the red head. It was as if she could not never be happy, which was something Kairi admired about her.

"Nothing." She yawned and mustered a sleepy smile at her friend. "Do I really look like crap?"

"Crap is such a disgusting word. It reminds me too much of faeces. I would say something like," Selphie furrowed her eyebrows as she scattered her thoughts for a word. An imaginary light bulb lit up above her head as she clicked her fingers. "Ghastly."

Kairi stared at her friend. She didn't know which was worst; to be described as crap or ghastly? They were both equally bad. "Great…"

"So, we're going to be super busy from next month onwards." Selphie whispered excitedly behind her palm, away from the ears of the other people in the hallway. "Dr. Riku Turner is transferring into our department!"

"Who's that?" Kairi asked wearily.

"Shut up!" The nurse gasped loudly, making Kairi actually shut up. "You don't know who he is?"

"No?" She raised a brow. "Should I?"

"Yes! He is the best doctor in this world! Not only is he a professional God, he's also one major hot doc. With just one glance, he can make any girl swoon, sigh, and pee their pants. Literally!" Selphie stopped and put the back of her hand on her forehead. "He's _the _McSteamy of the medical centre. Man, I could just eat him up!"

"I'd rather eat McDonalds." Kairi rolled her eyes. She had enough of boys' thinking they were such a big shot with the ladies. "I know I'll be more satisfied with a Big Mac than him. He sounds like he's full of himself."

"Kairi!" She looked at her friend with wide eyes. "You can't say that around here! Who knows who might be listening?"

"If he's so famous then- oof!"

She didn't finish her sentence as she collided with something hard. Or rather, _someone. _Whoever it was made her drop her folder, scattering all the pieces of paper inside all over the ground. She was too sleep deprived to deal with this nicely and whoever it was, was about to get a piece of her mind. "Watch where you're going!" With that being said, she could hear her friend take a sharp intake of breath.

The man raised a silver brow at the girl in front of him. It was partly his fault for the collusion as he was too busy looking at a chart to see what was in front of him, however, he was not one to apologize first. In most case scenarios, the other party would immediately retract and bow down to him. But not this girl. "Don't you have something to say to me?"

"Um, yeah –" She stopped mid-sentence as a pair of turquoise coloured eyes locked down onto her own. They were gorgeous! How does one even get that kind of colour? And that long silky silver locks… she shook out of her trance almost immediately and glared up at him. "Look forward next time."

Riku stared at her in disbelief. "Are you kidding me right now?"

Kairi bent down to pick up the pieces of paper. "Whatever." She didn't have the time nor the energy to argue with this beautiful man.

Selphie gasped at the exchange. There was a golden rule among the staff that thou shall not defy _the_ Riku Turner in any way possible for whatever reason, and yet, here Kairi was, snapping back at him like he was a simple peasant. She turned towards the doctor and bowed her head instantly. "Sorry, Dr. Turner! My friend is a total klutz. Please forgive her." She then quickly hissed in the red head's ear. "Kairi! That's Dr. _Riku Turner!_"

"Riku Turner? Please!" She snorted at the name. "If he was so great then he should have stepped out of the way. He's not a very observant doctor if you ask me. His patients must be suffering."

"Are you lacking as much common sense as you do in your hair volume?" Riku threw back swiftly, scowling in the meantime. "Can't ditch smarts for beauty. Or both in your case."

She gaped at his insult and narrowed her eyes. "Just because you are so damn beautiful yourself doesn't mean you can criticize me about my hairstyle." Her cheeks reddened instantly as she realized what she had said. She didn't mean for it to slip out but the tiredness was wearing her down and she couldn't think of any other comeback than that.

For a brief moment since Kairi first saw him, he wasn't frowning or scowling. Instead his face held a look of… amusement?

'_I'm glad someone finds it funny. He probably thinks I'm some sort of nut job_,' Kairi thought to herself as she kept picking up the pieces of paper, avoiding eye contact with him at all costs. She wanted to run into a wall right now.

"And knowing that, you still won't apologize to me?" Riku asked out of curiosity.

"I don't give a crap if you're famous, beautiful, or anything else inhumane." She continued to stand by her standards. "I'm not going to bow down to someone who lives in their glory."

What she didn't expect to happen next was that he was on the ground with her, helping her to pick up the remaining papers. Finally, they both reached last piece of paper at the same time, but he didn't let go of it as he asked her, "What's your name?"

"Huh?" Kairi was about to look up to shoot him a deadly glance saying 'you-better-let-go-or-else' but was surprised to see him eye-level with her. A light pink tint slowly spread on her cheeks as she didn't expect the sudden close proximity.

"What's your name?" He repeated himself, more clearly this time.

She felt lost in his gaze as the delicate tone in his voice made her confused. "Kairi."She couldn't help but answer him.

"Kairi," Riku repeated slowly, rolling each syllable off his tongue. He helped her up from the ground and handed her the piece of paper, which she accepted hesitantly. He shot a small smrik at her, "You should watch out for me next time."

With the flick of his white coat, he turned his back towards the direction he was heading to, leaving the two young women to watch his leaving figure in silence. Kairi couldn't comprehend what just happened. First, she was mad at him, and then _he _was mad at her. Then the next second she was _still_ mad at him but he was nice to her? What a strange man.

"Oh. My. God." Selphie breathed each word separately before squealing loudly. "I've never seen him this close before!"

Selphie's voice brought her back to reality. "Huh?"

"He's even more handsome up close than far away." She squealed and fanned herself with her hand. "And his cologne is just, wow!"

"Selphie, you have a boyfriend." Kairi said to her frankly.

"Who I'm very much in love with, thank you!" The brunette exclaimed back.

"He's so hot, right?" A nurse, who overheard the conversation before, joined in. "I wish my man was Dr. Riku _Turner_…"

"Mhmm. Unique coloured eyes… " Selphie sighed dreamily. "Long silver hair... "

"Don't forget that _ass!_" Another passing fellow nurse whistled out behind them.

"If I was a patient I wouldn't mind him doing a check up on me."

"I would hand him the gloves."

"And loosen my hospital gown a little bit more so it "accidentally" slips off. Oops!"

Kairi rolled her eyes as she listened to the women's foolishness as they kept walking towards their destination. But she wasn't going to deny that a tiny bit of her agreed with them. Not out loud, anyway.

* * *

"This place looks ah-may-zing!" The blonde sang as she looked around the pub excitedly.

"Right?" Her red head housemate agreed. Friday night came rolling by the week quickly and the two found themselves currently sitting down in a booth at the local pub two blocks down from their apartment block. "I can't believe we haven't been here before."

"I know! It's such a shame. We have to come here more often now." Namine grinned and checked out the other people. "I hope I'm not under dressed." Most of the other women at the bar were wearing all sorts of revealing dresses and their makeup and hair looked as if they were done by professionals. But here she was, feeling like she was sticking out like a sore thumb. She looked down at her own attire; a casual white blouse with laced sleeves and light blue skinny jeans with black heeled boots. Her hair was in its usual wavy self to one side of her head and she hoped her mascara was enough to make her eyes pop.

Kairi gave her a quick look over before snorting. "If there's anyone tonight who should be jealous it should be everyone in this pub because girl, you are looking _fine_."

"Really?" She tilted her head in doubt but soon her lips curved up in slight smile as her friend gave her a look. "Thanks, Kai."

A basket of complimentary bread sticks were set in the middle of the table as soft pop music was playing in the background, but it was hardly audible by the chatter and laughter of the other customers. There was a dart board in the corner and a pool table where other people were playing casually. A bar was situated at the other end of the pub with long lines flowing with all sorts of people waiting to order their drink. Generally, a warm atmosphere illuminated throughout the pub as the two girls waited for the others to arrive.

"So! I was thinking of eating something deep fried and delicious." Namine grinned widely as she looked at the chicken section of the menu. There were all sorts of flavoured deep fried chicken wings listed; salt n' pepper, spicy chilli, bacon fried… _oh!_ The kimchi flavoured spicy hot wings were obviously a sign from above that she must devour them. She flipped over to the drinks menu and her eyes lit up at the equally extensive list of cocktails. "Definitely something with tequila in it as well."

"Bad day?" Kairi asked at the mention of a drink. She knew her housemate well enough to know that she was not usually one to order drinks until something happened to her. Something _big_. And she didn't want her to feel like she was all alone in her time of need.

"'Bad' is such an understatement." Namine breathed a sigh of defeat. "I'm going to say more disastrous than anything. Literally nothing could make things worse."

"What happened?" The red head attempted to gather more information.

Namine shrugged dismissively. She laid her menu down flat to face the red-haired opposite her, giving her a teasing grin. "So, tell me about this guy."

She raised an eyebrow at the sudden change of topic. She knew that her housemate was trying to hide something but she wasn't going to push it if she didn't want to talk about it. "Who? Sora?"

"He's the one who came to our place the other day, right? The spiky brunette coffee man?" She asked conversationally, knowing full well of who she was talking about. As if she could ever forget someone who told her off.

"Yup, that's him." Kairi grinned. She had saw him earlier in the day, as well as Roxas, to plan the details of the event of tonight with them before they finished work. He was going to drive Roxas to Merlin's House while the two girls would walk since the pub was in close distance to their apartment block.

"He's cute." Namine whispered behind her hand with a grin playing on her lips.

The red head felt her cheeks heating up slightly as she looked back at the menu, trying to avoid the blonde's gaze. "You think so?"

"Yeah, gorgeous eyes as well." She replied. She knew the red head had a bit of a soft spot for the boy who bought her ice cream all the time, however, she couldn't help but slip out, "He's lacking a bit in the love department, though."

"Huh?" Kairi raised a brow. "How so? I didn't notice a thing. But you guys seem to hit it off pretty well without me."

"Uh, yeah. In a way," Namine smiled nervously. Truth be told, she didn't know how to act around him. She was relief when the two of them had to go to work shortly after he caught her out on her act the other day. It wasn't like she didn't want to know him, it was just that she was looking out for her friend. She definitely wasn't a fake like he thought she was. But today when she faces him, it was going to be a challenge. Should she be nice? Play the bitch card? Or just go with the flow? She hoped that the extra fourth person would somehow make the atmosphere more comfortable. "So, who's the other guy coming tonight?"

"Oh, _him."_ She groaned and waved her off. "He's not even worth mentioning."

"Aw, why?" The blonde asked, dragging out her tone. "He can't be that bad."

"Yeah, well-" she thought for a moment. "Okay, he's actually not that bad. He's a genuinely nice guy. But he acts so sleazy. Nams, I swear he will hit on every living thing he could. You better watch yourself when he starts targeting you."

Namine laughed behind her palm. The red head could be so dramatic sometimes. "Kai," she started in a reassuring tone. "Thanks, but I can take care of myself."

"Don't say I didn't warn you." Kairi replied as she flipped to the drinks menu. "He has this weird charm, like as if he reads his pickup lines off the internet or something."

"Sounds dangerous."

"He won't hesitate to tell you that danger is his middle name." She rolled her eyes as the memory.

"Oh?" Namine leaned forward on her elbows. "Speaking of which, what is his name?"

"It's R-," Kairi got distracted as she saw a flash of spiky brunette hair in the corner of her eye. She turned around to where she saw him. Her eyes found him at the entrance and she waved him over. "Sora! Over here!"

Sora perked up at the sound of her voice and waved back. He waited for a bit, making sure the _other _blonde was following him before making their way towards the girls.

Namine looked towards the new arrival and smiled softly at the brunette. However, her smile instantly vanish as she saw who was following him. For the second time that week, she felt time stood still. Sweat was starting to bead up as the figure became clearer in her vision and she felt paralysed to her chair. There was no possible way that it was _him, _right? Out of all places why was he here? Her eyes could only focus on him in shock as he was getting closer and closer to their table. "Kai?" She asked softly, barely audible. Her heart started to thump louder in her chest. She was about ninety-nine percent sure who he was, but she _needed_ to hear it out loud. "What was his name again?"

Kairi, not noticing the blonde's change in behaviour, didn't tear her eyes from the brunette. He was trying to gesture something at the bar but she couldn't comprehend his actions. She replied nonchalantly to her housemate, "It's Roxas."

In that instant, her fears were confirmed. It was _him!_ There wasn't that many people in the world with the same name as him. Was he following her? How did he get here? She had a billion questions running through her head but she didn't want to ask him. Definitely not. It's funny how fate plays out sometimes. All this time, she was worried how she should act around Sora, how she was going to know him, and what kind of questions she should ask him. But it wasn't him who she should be worried about. Not anymore.

Her breath hitched in her throat as he finally approached the table behind Sora. He hadn't realised she was there but either way, she was not ready for this. Not now.

"Sorry, we're late." The brunette rubbed the back of his head sheepishly as he got to the table. "Traffic was horrible."

"That's okay, Sora." Kairi replied with a grin. "I was expecting you boys to take longer to, you know, gel all your hair up."

"Sorry to burst your bubble, Kairi, but these are _au naturel._" A smooth voice was heard behind Sora, one that Namine knew all too well. "Sora's is living proof that anime hair is real."

It felt so surreal. His voice was echoing in Namine's head, proving over and over again that he was here in this pub on Destiny Islands at this very moment. And he was just a mere five feet away from her.

"Oh, really?" Kairi taunted the blonde.

"If you really want to feel these bad boys that badly then who am I to stop you?" Roxas smirked and stepped around Sora towards the red head. Before he could take another step, his eyes caught sight of the other girl sitting at the other side of the table. He froze on the spot as he realized who she was. His brows furrowed deep into his forehead as he opened his mouth to say something, but nothing except air came out.

Kairi quickly perked up at the strange fascination the two had with each other. "Oh, sorry!" She motioned a hand to the blonde opposite her on the table. "Roxas, this is-"

"Namine." Roxas answered her name softly, his eyes never straying from her own.

Kairi turned her head towards him quickly as she detected the sudden tenderness in his voice.

"I know." He replied louder this time, regaining his composure. His lips turned into a confident smirk when he saw the way Namine continued to look at him and he ran a hand through his golden locks. "Did you miss me, Namine?"

* * *

-:-:-:-:-

**Author's Note:**

Oh my goodness!

What is Namine going to do? How does she and Roxas know each other? Will she ever get her kimchi flavoured chicken wings? Will Kairi actually watch out for Riku next time? And will Xion ever get a boy (apart from Sora *ahem*) to look at her for more than five seconds?

Oh, such dilemmas, much tragedy. I guess you guys will have to find out next time ;) ... or the next next next next times... hehe.

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter as much as I had writing it.

**Thank you for reading :)**


	9. The Day The Storm Is Brewing

**Author's note:** Get the title? Because of beer and brewing, and they are in a pub? Eh? Eh? ;) Hehe. Anyway, enjoy!

* * *

-:-:-:-:-

**Chapter 9:** **The Day The Storm Is Brewing**

-:-:-:-:-

There was no mistaking it.

Same spiky blonde hair, same cerulean blue eyes, same _freakin' _dimple on his left cheek. The only difference was that he was wearing a red button up top and black jeans than his usual black and white attire. Though it has been a while since she last saw him, she couldn't deny the fact that she could recognise him from a mile away. This situation was no exception. But the fact that he was giving her a sly grin like as if nothing had happened pissed her off more than ever.

Before he could speak again, Namine quickly flipped the menu up in front of her and her housemate. "_Kai_," she hissed not so discreetly to her housemate. "What is _he _doing here?"

"You know I can still see you." Roxas spoke right above them. He snorted at her attempt to hide herself. "The menu isn't that big to hide you."

Namine mentally cursed herself as she knew he was right. The menu was _tiny!_ It was like an A4 size piece of paper. But she wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of being right. She narrowed her eyes at him as she flipped the menu down rather harshly. "Um, was I talking to you?"

"No-"

"That's right." She interrupted him in a cold tone. "I don't think so."

Sora looked over towards Kairi as he sat down next to Namine, which made Roxas sit next to Kairi. From the interaction before, he could only fear the worse if Namine and Roxas were sitting right next to each other.

Kairi only raised her eyebrows in return at the brunette. The last time she saw Namine act like this was when she was yelling at the guy who didn't fix the noise in their fridge properly, which left them sleep deprived. That was not a happy day to remember. She flipped the menu back above both of them, more closely to their heads this time. "What are you doing, Nams?" She hissed back in a hushed tone.

Namine knitted her brows together and rubbed her temples together. "I'm sorry but he's the biggest ass I've ever met! I just want to tear that stupid smirk from his face, it makes me so – _ugh!_" She clenched her fist and hit the table suddenly.

"Is my smirk really stupid? Roxas could be heard on the other side of the menu asking Sora. There was no reply but Kairi could imagine him shrugging.

She rolled her eyes. "What did he do?" After receiving no response, she let out a defeated sigh. "We can leave if you want to, you know."

Namine paused before shaking her head. "No." She didn't want to ruin the evening for her friend because of her. She took a deep breath in and out to calm herself. "I'll… I'll be fine."

"Are you sure?" She asked in concern.

"Affirmative." Namine reassured her and stood up. She smiled sweetly at her housemate and the barista. "Let's get some drinks, people! Do you want anything Kai, Sora?"

"Apple cider, please!"

"A beer for me."

"Cosmopolitan-"

"Alright!" Namine clapped her hands loudly, ignoring the other blonde. "One cider and one beer coming right up!"

The trio stared at her leaving form waltzing towards the bar before they turned towards the blonde remaining on the table. "What?" He crossed his arms. "Can't a guy get a cocktail?"

"What did you do to her?" Sora questioned him accusingly.

He held his hands up defensively and looked back and forth between the two. "I didn't do anything!"

The brunette gave him a look, as if to say it was the most obvious thing ever that he did do something.

"How do you know each other?" Kairi spoke up.

"You should know this." Roxas replied quickly. With no response from her, he sighed and shook his head. He realised she didn't tell her anything of her past, more specifically _their _past. "Where is she from, Kairi?"

"Twilight Town." She replied as if it was common knowledge. Where was he going with this?

"And where am I from?"

"Twilight Town…"

"Good job. Would you like a cookie?" He congratulated her sarcastically before returning to cross his arms against his chest.

She furrowed her eyebrows. That wasn't exactly an answer to her question. He was being vague on purpose. She gathered her thoughts. He was a player so anything could have happened in Twilight Town. "Oh my God," she gasped, one hand over her mouth. "Did you sleep with her?!"

He choked on his own spit and coughed. "What?" He thumped his chest with his fist, clearing out his throat.

"And got her pregnant?" Sora joined in, conspiring a story in his head. "And then you broke off the relationship?"

"No, wait, Sora." Kairi intervened. "That doesn't add up. Namine came here years ago while Roxas arrived a few weeks ago."

"She could have had the baby and stuck him with it because she left to come here. That's why he's here for her." Sora jaw dropped as a realisation dawned on him. "That explains why he wanted to meet her so much! Remember that time when I dropped you home?"

"Geesus, you're right!" Kairi exclaimed excitedly. "Wait, no-" her brows knitted together. "She can't have had a baby. A while ago, we promised that we would get pregnant at the same time and have our firstborns marry each other."

"Ah," Sora scratched his chin. "In that case, maybe Roxas slept with her best friend and that's why she left in the first place?"

"Or maybe he had a one night stand with her and left in the morning without saying a word?"

"Or maybe he didn't sleep with her at all and that's why she's pissed?"

"Guys_, guys!_" Roxas interrupted their accusations. They stopped their excited chatter and listened to him. "When did I become such a man slut? I don't sleep around." He stared at them in disbelief.

"Could've fooled me." Kairi shrugged casually.

"You're so damn rude." He shot a glare at her.

"Hey," she looked at him straight in the eye. "Namine is one of my closest friends and friends stick together no matter what. So, if you're an enemy to her, you're an enemy to me."

He nodded slowly. "I understand but hear me out," he dropped his tone to a low volume before giving the two the sincerest look he could make out. He was only going to say this now once and once only. "I would _never_ do anything to hurt Namine."

* * *

Namine swirled her finger around the rim of the shot glass for the tenth time. Her anger had slowly subsided with the number of drinks she had ordered but she knew it would quickly bounce back.

'_Okay, girl, you can do this,'_ she mentally encouraged herself before she looked behind her towards the table where the trio was. Her heart began to speed up immediately and she turned back towards her drink quickly, placing a hand on her chest while taking slow deep breaths to try and calm herself down. The sight of him was making her nervous and she wished she didn't have to face him at all. Not tonight, anyway. What was with the past haunting her this whole week? Years of memories were flooding through her head, giving her a headache. The happy memories were overlooked by the bad ones and it made her angry, frustrated, and… sad? She still couldn't believe that _he_ was here. And she still couldn't that _she _was alive. She sighed and gulped the rest of the shot. It's been a complicated week.

She knew she had been at the bar for way too long but she didn't have the courage to re-join the group. Not when _he _was there. Her eyes glanced to the cold beer and cider on the counter next to her. They had been sitting on the bar for a while, soon to lose its coolness from being out of the cool fridge. And it wasn't fair to Sora and Kairi to give them warm beverages as they had nothing to do with her inner conflict and destructive emotions.

Namine glanced at the clock hanging on the wall and puffed her cheeks out. She definitely had to go back to the table soon. But not without another drink. Or two. She raised her hand to get the bartender's attention. "Keith! Two more tequila shots, please!"

The black haired bartender gave her a thumbs up and proceeded to pour her order.

"Woah, slow down there, sweetheart."

Namine turned to the voice and saw a man she had never seen before. Blonde wispy bangs were poking from underneath the dark beanie he was wearing, hiding his eyes from the world. His biceps was obviously defined as he wore a sleeveless white top to show them off. And he was tall. _Really _tall.

She frowned as alcohol was starting to cloud her judgement. How dare he tell her what to do? She was a strong independent woman! "Please go away." She tried to reply in the politest tone she could muster in her current state.

"Aw, don't be like that." He smirked down at her. She noted mentally that his voice was as smooth as a brick wall. "You don't suck the lemon and salt?"

"I like the burn." She shrugged casually as she took out her wallet to pay for the drinks.

"Wait, here. Allow me." The man pushed his fringe to the side as he handed the bartender a bill, who raised an eyebrow in return but took it nonetheless.

"Thanks." Namine replied and ignored his gaze. He had icy blue eyes that she felt as if it could pierce through her soul. It was scaring her.

"Hey, since you like tequila so much I have a joke. Do you know why the Mexican pushed his wife off the cliff?"

Namine shook her head as she gulped another shot. She wasn't paying attention to his words as the smirk on his face reminded her of another _certain _someone.

"To _kill _her." He laughed loudly, throwing his head back for effect.

She grinned slightly and swallowed her last shot. "I got to go back to my friends now." She grabbed the drinks in one hand each and tried to escape.

"Here, let me help." The man tried to grab the drinks from her but she quickly turned her back to him.

"No thanks. I can do it myself." She replied quickly, emphasizing on the last word.

"I always say two pairs of hands are better than one." He winked at her and made another attempt at the drinks.

She felt revolted at his comment but swiftly avoided his hands again. "Good lord, you're so annoying." She may be tipsy but she knew how to stand her ground. Her eyes shot him a deadly look. "I don't know if you heard me before but I repeat, please, _fuck _off." She was so done with his pathetic attempts.

The man's cool demeanor suddenly changed as he scowled. He placed a firm hand around her arm to stop her. "Hey, what did you say-"

"_Oi!_" A deep voice boomed out behind the man. Namine felt her heart skip a beat as she turned to look back at the man who had stepped in. His cerulean eyes shot the man a murderous look as he grabbed his shoulder. "Let go of her."

The man gave a cold laugh. "Or else what?"

"Do you really want to know?" Roxas glared deepen as he saw how her skin around his fingers were turning white, and tighten his hold _hard_.

The man winced in pain and let go of the girl immediately. His icy eyes flicked towards him and the bartender, who was watching the scene immensely. "Fine." He gave a final smirk and rolled back his shoulder. "I'll be back, sweetheart." He winked at her before disappearing into the crowd.

The feeling of vomiting came back again, but Namine held it down. Once the man was clear from their sight, she turned her back towards the blonde and strode towards the table, as if nothing had happened. "Hey!" He matched her speed and walked besides her. "I was on my way to the bathroom and saw that man grabbing you. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." She brushed his concerns off her casually with her reply.

"He didn't hurt-"

"I'm _fine._" She repeated herself, more loudly this time. They had reached the table now and she sat down. She put the drinks down in front of Sora and Kairi respectively but she didn't notice the worried gaze they had on her. They had watched the scene as well but were relief when they saw that Roxas had diffuse the situation.

Roxas continued to speak to her, ignoring the other two who were trying to intervene. "Namine, I'm only-"

"Shh!" Namine placed a single finger on her lips to silence him.

He raised a brow at her behaviour. "I-"

"Shhhhhh." She dragged her voice out this time.

"Can you stop interrupting me?" Roxas exclaimed suddenly.

"What do you expect me to say, Roxas?" She asked exasperatedly. With one hand on her chest, she faked a sweet smile and raised her voice ten times higher, "Oh my gosh! Thank you for saving me! You're my hero!"

Roxas was taken back. "A little appreciation would be nice." He ran a hand through his spiky locks nervously.

"So, you _were _expecting something in return." Namine rolled her eyes. "So typical."

An awkward silence filled the table as no one said a word after that.

'Thanks, Roxas,' Sora mouthed to blonde genuinely. He did deserve some praise, after all.

Roxas only nodded in response as his focus went back to the girl.

In the meantime, Namine was eyeing the drink in front of Kairi. Drops from the cold chill was running down the sides, tempting her to have a taste of it. She must have some! "Can I have a bit of your cider, Kai?" She smiled sweetly at her housemate as she licked her lips.

"Um," Kairi flicked her eyes towards the brunette and the other blonde. They both shook their heads furiously. "How many drinks have you had already, Nams?"

Crap, she lost count. Seven? Eight? "Two shots." The blonde lied, flicking her hair from her neck at the same time. It was getting hot in here.

Kairi raised an eyebrow as she saw through her lie. She was a lousy drinker as she was a liar.

"Okay, fine." Namine sighed in defeat. "Three."

"Has she eaten anything?" Sora asked as he opened the menu for food. He thought it was best to sober her up before anything else could happen.

"Not since lunch time." She caught on to what he was thinking and peered at the menu too.

Roxas grabbed one of the bread sticks from the basket and held it towards the blonde. "Eat this," he told her quickly before she could interrupt him again.

Namine looked at the bread questioningly. However, a second later, she scrunched up her face and slapping the bread out of his hand, making it rebound off his head and falling straight to the floor. "Don't feed me like a baby!"

Kairi shot him a warning look. He must be incredibly dense or just plain stupid. How can he not see that he was not her favourite person at the moment and won't listen to him no matter what? She mentally slapped her forehead and turned to her housemate, speaking in a kind tone. "Maybe we should order something, Nams? You wanted some delicious deep fried chicken, didn't you?"

The blonde perked up at the mention of chicken. "Yes, please!" She smiled widely. "Best idea I've heard of all night."

"Are you sure you want to eat that, Namine?" Roxas asked, annoyed at his rejection. "Those extra calories won't make your thighs slimmer."

Kairi widened her eyes at him while Sora's jaw dropped. Did he want to get slapped?

Namine narrowed her eyes. Aw, _hell_ no. He did not just call her fat. "l'm glad I didn't get you a drink, Ro-_xy."_ She emphasised on her nickname for him sweetly. "You're an ugly mess when you're drunk."

"Heh," he scoffed. "Like you can talk. Go look in the mirror."

"I don't have to, I just have to look at you."

"That was the worst comeback, ever."

"You're the worst comeback, ever." Namine mimicked him, dropping her voice ten pitches lower than usual. She suddenly burst out laughing out loud, making the whole table jump. "Literally! Because you came back in my life and you are the worst person ever. Get it? Oh my God, Kai," she turned to her friend, tugging on her sleeve excitedly. "I'm so funny!"

"Hilarious." Kairi rolled her eyes and stood up. The chicken wings were needed stat. "I'm going to order. Sora," she turned to the brunette. "Make sure they don't kill each other. Roxas," she then turned towards the blonde and pointed a single finger at him warningly. "Behave."

"Did she just treat me like a dog?" Roxas asked the brunette once she was well out of ear-shot.

"Don't be so surprise." Namine replied before Sora could. "Roxy is such a bitchy name, after all." Proud of her insult, she hummed a chirpy tune as she checked out her nails on her left hand.

"Namine, you can't go around calling people 'bitchy'." Sora told her firmly.

"But he started it!" She hit the table as she looked up at him in disbelief, causing a few customers to turn their hands. Luckily, she wasn't very strong and the table remained intact.

"Namine." He gave her a stern look, making her quiet down instantly. He felt like he was a parent telling off a small child.

Roxas groaned as he laid his head on the table. "I came out to have a good time but honestly I'm feeling so attacked right now." He muttered sourly to himself.

"You would know a lot about hurting people." Namine's voice was laced with hatred. "That _is_ your greatest strength, after all."

"Oh, really?" Roxas' voice was now louder and with confidence. He had enough of her crap tonight and didn't care what he said anymore. He looked up from the table straight into her eyes as he said without missing a beat, "That's not what you told me when we dated."

Sora swore he heard a glass drop as a deadly silence filled the table. If looks could kill, he would be staring into the middle of a battlefield right now. They both hadn't broke eye contract but he could feel electricity sparking between them. He desperately wanted to say something at the revelation but knew it was best to keep his mouth shut.

Namine finally looked away and stood up. This week was a total hell and she couldn't take it anymore. She thought she would be okay, that maybe a drink would calm her thoughts, but she was dead wrong. With that last insult from Roxas, she had reached her limit. It reminded her of the past she desperately wanted to forget. Ignoring the _'hey!'_ from the waitress that was walking past their table, she quickly picked up a glass she was carrying on her tray and splashed its content into the other blonde's face.

Roxas flinched back from the sudden attack and wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. "What the hell, Namine?!" He shot her a deathly glare. "What was that for?"

"Because you're so stupid, Roxas." Tears started to well up in her eyes as she announced to the table, "I'm leaving."

Sora stood up as well. "Wait, Namine-"

"Tell Kai that I'm going home first. I'll see you another time. And Roxas," she looked down to the blonde and glared through her tears. "I hope I _never_ see you again."

Roxas didn't say another word as he watched her leaving form. She wiped her eyes with her palms as she rushed to the exit, ignoring the stares she was getting from the other customers in the pub. Drops of the drink dripped down from the tips of his blonde locks as he remained silent, ignoring the towel the waitress was offering him. Regret instantly filled his mind once the words left his mouth but he was too proud to apologize. The door swung closed and he cursed under his breath. He should've known better.

Sora frowned and clenched his fist. He had to act and he had to act fast. "Roxas," he turned to the blonde. "I'm going after her so stay here with Kairi, okay?"

"No, I'll go!" Roxas responded quickly as he stood up. He gave Sora a serious look. "It has to be me." Before Sora could say anything he was already out the door and going after her.

The brunette was frozen in his spot. He looked back at the bar where Kairi was, who was still waiting for her order to be ready and sighed. He felt utterly useless.

* * *

"Namine, wait!"

The platinum haired blonde didn't bother to turn back to know who it was. Again, out of all people, of course it would be him. Fate was being a pain in the ass tonight. She laughed to herself sarcastically and kept on wobbling along the footpath, almost toppling over herself at times. Despite her quick exit, once she was outside she had slowed down and tried to watch her pace. May it be because of the alcohol or the heels she was wearing, she knew she had to be careful.

"I said, _wait_!"

She flinched at the sound of his voice, not expecting it to be that close to her. "Go back inside, Roxas."

Roxas finally caught up to her and stood in front of her, blocking her path. He bent down slightly with his hands on his knees as he caught his breath. His head bowed in front of him. "Please, u-um," he stammered and looked back up at her. "Can we talk?"

Her eyes cast down at him sadly for a brief moment before she stepped around him without saying a word.

He shot out his hand at her and grabbed her own hand, making her stop. "Just hear me out."

"Why should I?" She barked back. "After so many years, you expect me to do that? Ha!" Namine snorted as she tried to break free, but his hold was too strong.

As she took another step forward she saw her vision blur and felt herself falling to the ground in slow motion.

Feeling her weight drop, Roxas quickly pulled her up by her hand, making her spin her towards him. Her back was pressed against his chest as it took her a moment to return to her senses. They were both standing on a sidewalk and cars were driving furiously on the road next to them. The light from the street lamps were dimmed lightly but they didn't care enough to notice. "Namine," he wrapped his hand that was still holding onto hers around her waist and crossed his other arm over. "I'm sorry." He pressed his cheek against the back of her hair. "For back there, for three years ago… for everything."

"I don't care." She shifted her gaze to the ground. The warmth from his body was comforting her from the cold night and his breath was tickling her ear, making her shiver internally. It seemed so natural for her body to relax into his and she hated it. Her vision soon blurred once again, but with her tears this time. She didn't want to let him see her cry. Not again.

"Please, Namine. I was dumb." Roxas pleaded desperately.

"You-" she clenched her fist as she remembered the past. Anger was building up inside of her again. "You left me! Do you know how long I waited for you? Do you know how many things I sacrificed for you? And yet, you ripped my heart into tiny little shreds like it was a piece of paper and disappeared without a trace." She cackled and struggled against his hold. "Let go of me!"

"I won't." He tightened his hold on her. "I'll never make that same mistake again."

Namine stopped as she heard the break in his voice. "It's too late." Tears threaten to fall from her eyes and she tried to blink them away. "It's too damn late, Roxas."

He rubbed her arms from the cold air. "Don't say that, Nams-"

She froze at the nickname. "Nams? NAMS?!" Her voice fumed loudly. "Only my _close_ friends get to call me 'Nams'! You are not close nor a friend. You lost those privileges a long time ago!"

"Namine-"

"Please, just leave me alone!"

"Namine!"

Roxas instantly let her go as she ran towards the brunette. He was surprised at her but gracefully caught her in his arms. "Sora, take me home." She was shaking as she clutched his sleeves tightly. "Please."

Sora looked down at the girl and back up at the other blonde, trying to comprehend the situation. Poor Roxas, he looked as if his heart had been trampled on. And Namine was as equally distraught. No, she was worse. She was an emotional wreck. He looked back at the spiky haired blonde, who could only stare at the girl with a painful expression. He wanted to reach over and pat him on the back, but he knew he had to take care of the girl in his arms first. "Yeah, come on. Let's go." He made a gesture to Kairi, who was following behind them at a distance with a takeaway bag, and guided the girl towards her apartment building, leaving Roxas underneath the lightly dimmed streetlight alone.

* * *

"Thanks for dropping her home, Sora." Kairi said softly as she tucked the blanket higher on her housemate. "I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Anytime." The brunette replied in the same volume as her. He leaned against the wall and watched the girl's chest rise and fall in a steady rhythm.

The emotional turmoil had finally taken its toll on her and created sleep for her. Her mascara had smudged and she was still wearing the same clothes, but Sora couldn't help but think that for once since he saw her tonight, she looked peaceful.

"I've never seen her this distraught before. She's normally so calm and collected." The red head placed a packet of Panadol and bottle of water on the table next to her bed with a slight chuckle. "She'll definitely need this in the morning."

"Good luck taking care of her." He grinned slightly, trying to lighten up the mood.

"Thank God it's Saturday." She sighed. "I really hope Roxas is okay."

He remembered the look on his face and his heart sank at the memory. "You know… he's not a bad guy."

"I know," she gave an acknowledging nod. "I just wish that I had stopped her from coming or that I never actually let him meet my housemate." She closed her eyes for a moment. "I was only joking but now I wish I hadn't."

"Hey," he pushed himself off the wall and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Don't be too hard on yourself. I didn't do anything either and we couldn't have known that this would happen."

"Thanks, Sora." Her lips curved into a small smile before her eyes glanced back at her housemate. "I'll take care of her from here. Do you need to get home?"

He looked down at his phone. _11:35pm. _"Yeah, I probably should. I parked my car near the pub." He shook his head. "Such a mistake." His eyes glanced back at the sleeping figure. "Mind if I say bye?"

Kairi nodded and watched him kneel next to her.

A loose stray hair had fallen in front of her face and he tucked it behind her ear. She stirred at the sudden sensation and fluttered her eyes open. It was rimmed red and puffy. "Sora?" Her voice was soft but still as clear as crystal.

"Hey," he smiled down at her. "I'm about to leave so I wanted to say bye. Take care of yourself, okay?"

"Sora- wait." She tugged on his sleeve. "I'm sorry for how I was tonight. I... I was being immature."

"Don't be." Sora dismissed her. He pulled her hand off his sleeve and held it with both of his hands. "I – we," he glanced back at Kairi, who gave him a knowing look. "We're sorry. We shouldn't have brought him along."

"No, it's okay." Namine bit her lip and turned her head away from him, hiding the fact that a lone tear had rolled down her face. "You didn't know."

* * *

-:-:-:-:-

**Author's Note:**

_Fun fact_! Originally, this scene was meant to be a double date (Roxas was paired up with Kairi while Sora and Namine were... dating?! Omg that parallel universe lol) at a fine dining restaurant and they all had ordered salmon, except for Roxas, who ordered a steak. And Namine, being the sassy borderline bitch when she's on an emotional roller-coaster, calls him out and tells everyone that he didn't get the salmon because he's afraid he'll choke on the tiny bones in the fish. Hehe.

Anyway, this was my last pre-written chapter that I wrote when I was procrastinating for NaNoWriMo. Let's all pray that my updates will still be as fast as Usain Bolt. *shifty eyes* :P

To the two guests who reviewed the last chapter, sorry I can't reply to you guys privately but I'll do it here mwahaha (the number is in order of timing of the review and not me being biased haha):

Guest #1: Haha omg you totally called it! They are exes! But is he a sleazy bad boy? Hmm... I dunno about that. I mean, Ventus was a pimp in High School so maybe it runs in the family? Haha who knows ;) Thank you so much for reading and reviewing :)

Guest #2: Thank you so much for your kind words! I appreciate it so much. I hope you do finish your writings one day, I'd like to read one of them hehe ;) Thank you once again for reviewing and reading :)

Lastly, I can't forget all you other guys who are reading, reviewing, following or had added this story to their favourite list! I really, really appreciate it. **Thanks everyone! :)**


	10. The Day Into The Woods

-:-:-:-:-

**Chapter 10: ****The Day Into The Woods**

-:-:-:-:-

When Ventus told him that they were going to have a staff event, he was expecting something along the lines of a dinner or maybe even bowling. Anything but –

"Hiking?" Sora frowned at his boss.

"Yes, hiking." Ventus confirmed as he tightened the string underneath his chin that was connected to his wide brimmed hat.

They were currently standing in front of the entrance of a nature pathway at the bottom of a mountain. From the position they were in, they could see that several different trails were weaved between all sorts of tall trees and bushes, making its way to the top of the hill eventually. Birds were chirping, the sun was shining, and the smell of fresh flowers was in the air.

"But why?" Sora asked quizzically. "It's so… boring."

"More like exquisite if you ask me!" Ventus smiled widely. "And what's not fun about hiking?"

"Do I really need to answer that?"

"Anyway," The blonde emphasised the word, ignoring the barista remark, "It's a great way to build teamwork and promote friendships in the workplace. Tell me, Sora, who do you know out of everyone here?"

"Uh," His blue eyes scanned the small crowd that was in front of the two. There were all sorts of people dressed in outdoor gear but none that he recognised except for, "Aerith." He pointed to the light brown-haired woman on the other side, who was talking to another employee. "And you."

The blonde rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "And?"

Sora peered around once more. "That blue-haired woman that was at your office."

"_Aqua_." Ventus corrected him.

"Um, yeah, her." The barista rubbed the back of his head as he refocused his eyes on the group. His eyes squinted at a familiar red-haired figure. "Huh? Since when do we allow customers into staff events?"

"Since I said so." The blonde replied curtly. "The point of today is to get you guys to know each other. Specifically the weekend kids since you never see them."

"Right…" he replied as he watched the blonde making his way towards the front of the group.

"Hey, guys!" Ventus yelled as he stood up on a bench. When his voice failed to get everyone's attention, he stuck two fingers in his mouth and whistled loudly. All heads turned towards him and he smiled widely. "Thanks for making the effort to come to the first annual staff event! If you have forgotten, my name is Ventus-"

"Or are you Vanitas?" A teenage boy with silver hair jeered, earning some giggles from the crowd.

Ventus shot him a terrifying look to shut him up before continuing. "- And I am one of the managers here at the Corner Café. The other one is Terra," he pointed at a brunette man the same age as himself, who was standing next him. He only nodded at the crowd and crossed his arms. Ventus then pointed at the blue-haired woman that was at his office. "And Aqua is from the headquarters, so she will pop in the store from time to time. On behalf of the three of us, I would like to thank you all for working so hard with us these last few months! You have all done a wonderful job!"

A cheer echoed through the group and Ventus waited for it to die down before continuing to talk again.

"Before we start the hike, I'm sure most of you don't know each other, or have never even seen each other." The blonde clapped his hands. "Let's introduce ourselves, shall we? I'll start off. I'm Ventus."

"Lexaeus." A tall muscular orange-haired man scoffed.

"Hi, I'm Aerith," she smiled.

"Hiya everyone. My name's Yuffie!" A short black-haired girl replied enthusiastically.

"Hope." The silver-haired boy announced.

"I'm Kairi."

"Demyx." A man with ash-blonde hair flashed a wide smile.

"I'm Sora," the barista smiled sheepishly.

"Vanille," said a red-haired teenage girl with a smile.

"Donald," a human-sized duck quacked out loud. He wasn't wearing any pants, which earned a few raised eyebrows aimed at him.

"Good." Aqua made her way to the start of the group and held a bowl in her hands. "We shall start the hike now. Everybody will be working in pairs and the fastest pair to make to the top first will receive a very special prize. Understood?" An agreement was heard unanimously and she fished out the first pair. "Vanille and… Hope!"

The two teenagers made their way to each other and greeted each other awkwardly.

"Donald and… Demyx!" Aqua continued to read the other pairings out. "Aerith and… Yuffie! Sora and… Kairi! And finally, Lexaeus and Fuu!"

The other pairings made their ways towards each other before lining up at the entrance of the forest. Sora grinned at his redhead partner, "Fancy seeing you here."

Kairi returned his smirk. "Surprised?"

"Astounded, really."

"Okay, guys, if you run into trouble give me a buzz." Ventus called out from the top of the bench. "Your goal is a big wooden cabin with the sign saying '_Destiny Islands Top of the Mountain Cabin'_. Very visible and it should take no less than two hours to reach the top. Remember, this is about teamwork!" He held a flag in his hands. "So, on your marks!" He raised the flag up. "Get set… go!" He dropped the flag, and the teams scattered forward, with each pair making their own pathway towards the top.

* * *

"Who gave you that?" Sora asked, gesturing his head towards the bag on her back. They were fairly in the mountain forest now and the sun was directly over the top of their heads. The other teams were not in sight but Sora expected that they were in the leading position.

"Huh?" Kairi looked behind her to see what he was talking about. A faint blush crept up on her cheeks as a smile played on her lips. "Just somebody I work with. I mentioned I was going hiking and he gave me this. It even has a first aid kid!"

He gave a quick look over and chuckled. "Must be some tall friend. The bag is bigger than you!"

She puffed her cheeks at him and hitched her bag higher on her back. "You just have a perceptual disturbance."

"C'mon, Kairi. Have you even seen it recently?" Sora shook his head with a grin. He held his hand out towards her. "Here, I'll hold it for you."

"No, it's okay." She casually waved him off. "I can carry it."

He gave her a look in disbelief. "It's heavy and we'll get to the top faster."

"I'm a strong girl." She argued back, her smile unfazing. "I can handle this myself."

Sora rolled his eyes and sighed in defeat. He wasn't going to argue with her stubbornness. "Okay, fine. Don't beg me to hold it later."

Kairi only stuck her tongue out in response and walked ahead of him, wanting to prove that she was more than capable.

Something gold glinted in the sun caught her attention as she looked up to the trees above them. It was a rare giant gold and purple butterfly fluttering through the leaves and branches without a care in the world. A smile formed on her lips as she took out her phone with a mischievous glint in her eye. "I'll be right back, Sora."

He looked at what she was eyeing and dropped his bag to the ground, knowing that he was going to be waiting there for a while. "Be quick and choose a good filter this time."

She ignored his comment and followed the butterfly fluttering away further and further into the forest. "Come now, pretty butterfly." She called out to the insect. "Please, stay still."

Obviously not understanding the human language, the butterfly arguable did not stop. After some time not too far from where Sora was currently sitting, it finally did land on a small bush. Kairi stopped a few feet away from it and angled her phone camera to it to take a photo, only to lower it suddenly as the scenery in her peripheral vision made her stare at the natural landscape before her. The butterfly had led her to the edge of a cliff, which overlooked the whole town of Destiny Islands. To the left, she could even the see the island that wasn't a part of the main island, and further to the right was the city. And very briefly, she could just make out a massive white building with a giant red cross, indicating the Island's Medical Centre. The weather was perfect with the sky being clear and no clouds sighted, capturing the beauty of the whole world.

She mentally declared that a photo of the view is needed and she angled her phone camera once more, placing her foot down close to the edge of the cliff.

"Hurry up!" Sora's voice called out from behind her. "I- whoa!"

Her lips curved into a smile as she didn't take her eyes off her phone. She knew without a doubt that he had the same reaction as her. "Amazing, right?"

He gave a low whistle as he looked all around him. "It is." He shook his head and focused back on the girl. "Anyway, we have to keep going. I don't want to lose."

"Give me a second." With one final shutter of the camera, Kairi locked her phone and put it away in her pocket. She turned around to flash a cheeky smile. "That wasn't too bad, now was it?"

Before he could give a smart remark about women never being on time, a gust of wind blew past them making her lose balance.

"Kairi!" Sora cried out as he saw her wobble back and forward on one leg. He quickly dropped his bag and ran towards her. However, it was too late. By the time he past the small bush, she was already tipping backwards due to the weight of her bag. His hand stretched out towards her as she fell down the cliff, just narrowly missing her own hand, and he watched her fall down with wide eyes.

Expecting her guts to be splatter all over the ground soon, Kairi closed her eyes tightly at the anticipation. Millions of memories and thoughts ran through her mind and she instantly regretted that she chose the blueberry waffles instead of the big breakfast option as her last meal earlier this morning. Furthermore, how will they ever wash her blood away from Riku's hiking bag? Her eyes popped open as she realised that she had stopped falling and she started to laugh shakily. Instead of the cold hard ground, what she landed in instead was a massive bush, saving her from death.

Sora breathed a sigh of relief at the sight. It was a good seven or eight meters deep and the bush she landed looked soft enough. "Are you okay?" His brow shot up as he heard her laugh. "...Did you hit your head?"

"I'm okay!" She tried to push herself up from the bush. "I- ouch!"

"Kairi!" He yelled out in concern. He couldn't just watch her struggle down there alone and made the ultimate decision. Without wasting anytime, he took a few steps back and pushed himself to skid down the cliff steadily, watching his footing carefully. A few meters before he reached the bottom, he swiftly positioned himself into a forward roll, jumping at the end. Landing on his feet, he quickly made his way towards the girl in the bush. "Where are you hurt?"

Kairi stared at him in disbelief. "Where did you learn that?"

"In a video game." He grabbed her hand and helped her off from the bush. "Let me see your injury."

"It's nothing, really," she waved him off. The look he gave her made her feel guilty and her cheeks turned red as she reluctantly held up her index finger to him. "The bush cut me as I tried to get up. It's only a little cut."

Sora inspected her finger and gave a sigh of relief. "You got me so worried." He opened her bag up and searched its content for the first aid kit. A second later he pulled out a band aid and wrapped it around her finger.

"Thanks," her cheeks heated up at his act of kindness. She suddenly remembered their situation and slapped him on the shoulder _hard_. "Are you stupid?!"

"Ouch- what?" He frowned at her while rubbing the spot she hit. "I just risked my life because I was worried about you!"

"Yeah, but how the hell are we supposed to get out of here now?" She pointed up at the top of the cliff. The cliff was too steep to climb back up and there was no other way around it.

"Don't worry, we'll just call Ven." Sora shrugged and pulled out his phone from his pocket. "He'll know what to do."

"Are you sure you'll get a signal from down here?"

"Have faith in my phone," he replied as his lips curved into a smile when he saw a line in the corner of his screen. "Yes! One bar left!"

"How come your brick has signal yet mine has none?" Kairi frowned at her phone in disappointment. "This is an outrage!"

"Guess my phone is just better than yours," he gave her a smirk and held his phone to ear. After the fourth ring, he heard his boss pick up his phone.

"_Hello?_" Ventus voice echoed through the line.

"Ven!" Sora cried out loudly. "We need help- huh?" The line suddenly went silent and he looked at his phone in confusion. His eyes widen once he saw that his phone had completely turned off. "Great. Battery died."

"Useless." Kairi took a few steps back and cupped her mouth with her hands before yelling up at the cliff, "HELLO! CAN ANYBODY HEAR ME?!"

Sora caught on to her tactic and cupped his mouth too. **"HEEEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLLP!"**

* * *

Ventus took his phone off from his ear and frowned.

"Who was that, Ven?" Aqua asked as she handed him a cup of coffee.

He gave her a nod of appreciation and took a small sip. "It was Sora. He said something about help but the phone cut off before he could say anything more."

The blue-haired woman sat down next to him on the couch and held a worried gaze. "Is he in trouble?"

"I'm not too sure." Ven replied, staring absentmindedly into the cup while recalling the phone call.

"What are you talking about? You saw how enthusiastic he was about hiking." Terra called out sarcastically from behind them with his own cup in his hands. He gave a deep chuckle. "To be honest, he probably wanted to cheat his way up here."

Ventus looked at him before laughing as well. "You're right. He can be a lazy ass sometimes."

A knock on the cabin door was heard, making all three heads turned. Terra went to the door and opened it, smiling at the duo on the other side. "Congratulations Hope and Vanille! You are the first ones here!"

Ventus and Aqua came up from behind Terra and loudly popped confetti at the winners. "Good job, you two!" Ventus shouted excitedly and looked at his watch. "And it took you guys only half an hour!"

"YES!" A cheer came from the energetic red-haired girl as she jumped in joy. She turned to her silver-haired partner. "See? I knew we would be the first ones."

The boy was leaning against the wall with his head in his hands. He looked up at her with weary eyes. "That's because you made us literally run up the whole _freakin_' hill!" He rubbed the back of his calves soothingly.

"Oh, shush you!" Vanille smiled widely. "We won, didn't we?"

"Hmph." Hope grunted. "The prize better be worth it!"

Aqua peered at the duo more closely and frowned. Their clothes were ripped in several places, hair messy with leaves, and dirt was all around their bodies and on their clothes. "What… what kind of jungle did you guys go through?" She pointed at Hope's foot. "You're even missing a shoe!"

The boy groaned as the girl just rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "You don't want to know."

Laughing as they made their way back into the cabin, Ventus couldn't help but look back onto the forest worriedly. Although Terra had calmed his thoughts temporarily, he could only pray that the barista and his companion would turn up soon as he shut the door.

* * *

For the umpteenth time, Sora looked up to the top of the cliff. He wasn't sure how much time had passed since his phone call with his boss, but he noted that the sun had moved quite significantly. No matter how hard they had yelled, no one had heard them. They tried to venture in the space they were in, but found that they were literally trapped. The walls of the land were as high as the cliff and there was no other way around. He leaned into his palm and sighed. "We'll have to stay here until Ventus find us."

"Yeah…" Kairi could only respond. As much as she hated awkward silences, there was nothing she could come up with to talk about. She couldn't help but think that it was her fault that they were stuck.

A growl was heard from Sora's stomach and his cheeks heated up in response as she turned her head towards him.

"Are you hungry?" Kairi tried to stifle her giggle as she unzipped her bag. "There must be something I've packed that we can eat." Her hand touched something and her eyes lit up as she pulled out a packet. "A-ha!"

"Sweet potato chips?" Sora looked at the packet in amusement. "They sell these things nowadays?"

"Yeah, they are really healthy too!" Kairi opened the packet and winked at him. "It's baked not fried."

"Uh-huh…" He furrowed his eyebrows as she bit into one of the chips. Even the chip itself was a bright purple in colour.

She felt her heart sink as she saw the disgusted look he held and she dug around her bag once more. "Don't worry, I'm sure I have some _real_ food somewhere around here."

"No, it's okay! I love sweet potato," he took a chip into his mouth. "It's tasty," he concluded and stuck his tongue out at her. "Thanks. I was a bit hungry."

"Just a little bit?" Kairi smirked at his response. "In that case," she started unpacking her snacks at a rapid pace. "I have some chocolate, pocky, and oh!" Her smile widen. "Cookies!"

Sora stared at her before chuckling lightly. "Why am I not surprised you have this much food?"

"One can never have too much food!" She declared happily and opened the packet of cookies. As she was doing that, she heard him laugh loudly unexpectedly. "What?" She raised a brow at his strange behaviour.

"Nothing," he replied and settled his lips into a small smile. "I'm sorry."

Her confusion only deepen as she continued to look at him. "For what?"

"I wish I had taken our time to slowly get to the top," Sora replied and looked away solemnly. "We wouldn't have been in this mess if I didn't rush you."

Kairi blinked at him. He was definitely not thinking straight. "Sora…" she laid a hand on his shoulder softly. "It's not your fault. I should be the one apologizing."

"But," he turned his head to look at her. "You looked like you were really having fun. Winning or losing didn't matter and you were enjoying the scenery, while I wanted to get this hike over and done with. I was only thinking about myself and that's why I was so focused on winning."

"Yeah," her cheeks heated up as she instantly regretted saying that. "W-Wait, I mean," she started to get flustered. She didn't want him to think that she was agreeing to blame him for everything. "If I hadn't been so stubborn and wanted to take a photo of everything, and if I didn't fall off the cliff in the first place we wouldn't be here either. So, I was selfish too!"

He rubbed his chin and grinned slightly. "There's that too."

"Hey! You're not supposed to agree with me-"

"_Screech!"_

A bird suddenly flew out from the bush next to them, making Kairi jump in the process. "What the hell?!" She cried out, not even realising that a bird was in there in the first place. Her eyes followed the bird as it flew into the sky above them. "Wow!" She exclaimed at the sight, getting her phone out to take a photo.

"What is it?" Sora asked.

"Look how big the moon is!" She pointed excitedly at the sky.

His blue eyes looked up and his lips curved up upon reflex. Without the lights from the city or town, the moon was shining brightly down at them. It was big and full, and the stars surrounding it only made the sky look even more magnificent.

"I didn't realise how dark it has gotten," Kairi snapped a photo. "But somehow, it doesn't feel scary at all." She glanced over to the barista, who was smiling as well. However, not a second later, her lips faded into a stern line as she eyed the dark stain on his knee. "Sora! What happened?!"

Sora pulled up his left pants leg and grinned. "I must've scratched it when I rolled down the cliff."

"This is why they have that warning in video games saying 'do not try this at home'," she replied and took out her first-aid box quickly. "This is even worse than mine!"

"It's no big deal, seriously. I'll just peel the scabs off when it's dried."

"First off, you are disgusting." Kairi rolled her eyes. Using her phone as an extra light, she laid his leg out straight and started to clean the wound. "Secondly, stop acting so calm. You should've said something about it. What happens if you have an infection?"

"Kairi, you're overreacting." Sora replied as he watched her with curious eyes. "It's not like I'm going to die because I didn't take care of a cut."

"Don't say I didn't tell you so when you have to amputate your leg." She replied.

His eyes widen in horror. "What?!"

"I'm just kidding," Kairi stuck her tongue out at him cheekily before returning back to her task. "It's swelling up a little but it should go away soon. And at least the blood has stopped." She ripped open a bandage packet and pressed it gently on the wound. "All-right! Kairi's special wound dressing is all-" her breath hitched in her throat as she looked up, "-done…"

She didn't expect him to be this close to her. Although the only light was coming from the moon's rays, she realised that his eyes still illuminated a bright blue colour in the darkness as he looked down at her. A moment of silence passed them as she got lost in his eyes, before they snapped back to reality and quickly turned their heads away from each other in embarrassment. Her hands touched her cheeks gently and she noted that they were hot. _'Is this...?'_ she thought to herself as she felt her heart thumping loudly in her chest.

_"-qua! I found a bag!"_

Sora ears perked up at the sound. "Do you hear that?" He looked up and saw a single light beam from the edge of the cliff.

"Sora?! Kairi?!"

Kairi widen her eyes at the familiar voice and stood up. "Ventus! Thank goodness!" She waved her phone in her hand rapidly. "We're down here!"

Several torch lights shined down from the cliff to their faces. "They're over here!" Ventus called out to the group before looking down to the duo. "Are you guys okay?"

"Yeah, we are!" Sora answered for the both of them and he shot her a smile.

"Good!" A rope was thrown over the edge, with Sora catching it swiftly. "Tie this rope around you and we'll pull you up!"

Sora followed his instructions and wrapped it around Kairi and himself. After making sure it was secure, he tugged on the rope a couple of times, signalling that they were good to go. "We're done, Ven!"

"Okay, you'll have to walk up the cliff as we're pulling you up so hold on tight!" The blonde yelled out before turning to his other employees, noticing one of them was not there. "Wait- where's Lexaeus?"

"He's still on his way!" Someone called out.

"We'll have to do this without him." Ventus said in disappointment. "We'll need to use all our muscle that we can muster up! On the count of three we all pull on the rope. Got it?"

An echo of agreement was heard amongst the group, with each and every one of them holding on to a part of the rope. A nod was shared between the three organisers and a determined look was plastered on their faces. They were going to get their fallen comrades out no matter what.

"One… two… three! Pull!" Ventus yelled and started to walk backwards.

The two felt themselves being pulled upwards slowly and they started to walk up the edge of the cliff.

Groans and heavy pants were heard among the group as they used all their strength to pull the two up. Ventus could feel himself getting rope burn in his hands but he was not willing to let go. "Don't… give… up!" He panted out harshly.

A split second later, the rope started to pull back quicker, nearly making everyone trip over their own feet. Sora and Kairi were surprised at the sudden fast pace and were walking up the cliff more steadily. They were three-quarters up the cliff and their hearts started to speed up as they saw the beams from the torches.

Ventus looked back to see what had changed, only to find that Lexaeus had joined them and was walking back with ease. He flashed him a grin while the orange-haired man nodded in response. Sweat was pouring down everyone's faces as they pulled with all their might. With the final pull, the duo found themselves scrambling to the edge and fell on top of each other as they landed on the ground. Sora and Kairi could only grin widely at each other as cheers were celebrated all around them. They had finally escaped.

* * *

Ventus looked at his employees proudly. They were back at the cabin on top of the mountain and everyone was resting after their long day out. Despite the turn of events, he couldn't be more impressed. Weary, tired expressions were plastered on their faces but more importantly, the feeling of accomplishment was undeniably there too. He stood at the front the room and stuck two fingers in his mouth, making a loud whistle. "Thanks to everyone, you all have worked together as a team to find the missing Sora and Kairi and saved them from rotting to death! Well done!"

A chorus of cheers went around the room as Sora and Kairi raised a brow at the blonde's speech.

Ventus gave his two best friends a knowing look, who nodded their heads in return. A glint glistened in his blue eyes as he waited for the noise to die down. "Now, this was only going to be for the winners but thanks to everyone's efforts in the rescue mission, we have decided to share the prize with everyone as a reward." He walked over to a curtain that was in front a wooden door and pulled it off, revealing a sign saying '_Destiny Islands Mountain Hot Springs'_.

Wide eyes and an excited chattered spread throughout the room as voices were raised at the revelation.

"Behind this cabin leads to a hidden hot springs! Surprising, right?" Ventus winked at his employees. "Everything is already paid for and you will find all you need inside. So, please enjoy!"

With that final word, everybody stood up and raced towards the door, with Vanille leading the way and dragging a reluctant Hope along with her.

Sora, walking next to his red head companion, scratched his head before giving a light laugh as realisation dawned on him. "You knew this would happen, didn't you?  
So, this is why you are here in the first place."

Kairi rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "Yup... I overheard Ven talking about this and asked if I could come."

"More like she begged me." Ventus called out from behind them and knocked her head playfully. "This is the price for coming to a staff party without being a worker; you must fall off a cliff."

"Well, don't expect me to pay that again." She chuckled softly.

Listening to their chatter, Sora laughed along with them as they made their way towards the hot springs. They walked past an empty window and he stopped for a moment to look outside, locking his eyes onto the full moon shining brightly.

* * *

-:-:-:-:-

**Author's Note:**

Always go for the big breakfast option. _**Always.**_

Thanks for reading, reviewing, following or have favourited another chapter of _Days At The Corner Café ;)_


	11. The Day To Cure A Broken Heart

**-:-:-:-:-**

**Chapter 11:**** The Day To Cure A Broken Heart**

**-:-:-:-:-**

"What is _that_?"

The black-haired teenager frowned as she stared at the tiny paper cup that was sitting on the bed table in front of her. Strange light brown foam was floating on top and steam rose into the air, eliciting a strong bittersweet aroma.

"It's a shot," the brunet barista replied as he watched her in amusement. He saw her hold the cup to her nose to smell it before scrunching her face up and putting it back down quickly. At the start of his little deliveries, he would only visit room 358 once a week or so. But soon enough, they became more frequent and he found himself in her room at least once every second day. By the end of the second visit, he made it his personal mission to make her learn to love coffee by the end of her hospital stay. Unlike Kairi, he figured that since she was new to the world of coffee that she needed to start by going strong and taste the pure essence of coffee.

"Wait- a shot?!" Xion gasped at him. "But I'm only sixteen!"

"An _espresso _shot, you goose." Sora knocked her head playfully before sitting on the edge of her bed.

"Why is it so tiny?" She asked as she compared it to her hot chocolate, which looked like a giant. "Is it because it's free?"

"No, that's because it's literally a pure shot of coffee. No added milk or anything. And you're meant to take several sips to enjoy the taste." Sora stated as a matter of fact. "Plus I give you free _large _hot chocolates all the time. Why are you complaining now?"

She ignored him and return to glaring down at the cup before her. "This is why poison comes in little vials."

He rolled his eyes and pushed the cup towards her encouragingly. "C'mon, just try it. What's the worst that could happen?"

"Um, let me see… oh, that's right! I could die." Xion said grimly. Once she saw the look he was giving her she sighed and picked up the cup. "Okay, fine." She held the cup towards him. "Cheers!"

"Xion, remember sips!" Sora stretched his hand out to warn her but it was too late.

As soon as she tipped her head back, she instantly gulped loudly and started to cough, thumping her fist on her chest repeatedly. "Oh my god! That was horrible!" She looked back down at the cup in her hands and groaned. "And there's still some left."

"Geesus, slow down! You're going to be great drinker when you grow up." Sora remarked sarcastically and gave her an uneasy smile. "Sorry, I should've let you try a sweeter coffee next time."

"No, thanks. It's official- I'm laying off coffee until I start college." Not wanting to waste the rest of the shot, she opened the lid of her hot chocolate and poured it in, hoping that the sweetness would overtake the bold taste. She stirred the drink with a spoon before closing the lid again.

Her actions piqued his interests and he watched her more closely. "Did you know you just made a mocha?"

"Huh? Really?" She looked at her drink quizzically. "What's a mocha?"

"It's what you just made. Try it."

She rolled her eyes and smelt her drink. It still had the same chocolate-y scent yet there was just the faintest trace of coffee in the aroma. "By the way, I wanted to let you know that you don't have to come here for a while," she said as she cautiously sipped her newly made mocha. Her eyes lit up in surprise at the taste as she started to drink at a faster pace.

"Are you sick of me already? I promise I won't give you any more espresso shots."

"Please don't." Her lips curved upwards as she couldn't contained her excitement any longer. "But anyway, I've finally found a potential donor!"

Sora's eyes lit up brightly at the good news. "Congratulations!"

"Thanks," she grinned back. "You can't even imagine how happy I was when my parents told me."

"I don't think I'd have to," he chuckled as he watched her bounce in her bed slightly. "When are you getting the transplant?"

"Sometime soon, I think." She stroked her chin and whacked her brain for information. She regretted not paying attention to her doctor all this time when he was explaining the procedure. "Uh, my mother told me that they have to run all these tests on the donor to like, make sure they don't have any diseases and stuff before they can start the procedure."

"Sounds like a long process."

"Yeah and an even longer recovery period. But it all thanks to this one person that my life is going to be saved." Xion gazed out the window with a smile on her face. "I wonder who it is…"

* * *

Namine hated hospitals.

In her whole life, she had ever been to the hospital twice and suffice to say, neither experience was pleasant. The first time was to get her tonsils removed when she was four years old. The second time was when she was six years old and her mother made her accompany her to see her father. Well, technically it was more like she stood outside the door as her mother identified his body. It was the day after they found out that he and her baby sister was involved in a major car explosion accident on the highway between Twilight Town and Destiny Islands. No survivors were found, leading everyone to believe that she was unfortunately caught in the explosion too.

Until now.

She remembered the day that her sister's foster parents arrived at her doorstep revealing the hidden truth that happened all those years ago. How a baby was found somewhere along the highway not too far from the accident by a couple who were driving by back to Destiny Islands. They took her to the Island's police and social welfare services, but no one could identify the baby. The couple, not wanting the baby to be abandoned again, decided to adopt her and from there on, they raised her to be a reckless, yet spunky young woman she is today.

The doctors called it aplastic anaemia; a condition when the body does not produce enough blood cells for the body. A rare but treatable condition, yet in her case, it was on the more severe side and could possibly lead to death. After many consultations with doctors, the foster parents decided to go ahead with a bone marrow transplant to help their daughter. Hearing that a sibling or family member gives a higher chance of being a match, they hired a private investigator to track down anyone related to her, and at long last, they found Namine Snow.

They were prepared for the moment that she wouldn't believe that her sister is alive. From photos to medical records, they showed the blonde everything in order to convince her that her sister was real and that she desperately needed a donor. Undeniably, Namine could see that Xion had grown up to look like her mother with her father's blue eyes, but heck, it could have been any black hair blue-eyed girl that they were showing her. It wasn't until they showed her a photo of Xion posing with some of her teammates from her soccer team that Namine finally believed what they were saying was true as she saw the crown shaped birthmark that was above her right knee.

The platinum-blonde woman yawned and stretched her limbs out as she exited out of one the doctor's consultation rooms. It was a long appointment and an even longer wait to get into room itself. But she didn't mind. It was all for her sister. Her stomach rumbled and she looked at her phone to see if she had time to eat before her next test. As much as she didn't like the overpriced hospital food, she decided to go against getting vending machine food and to follow the signs leading to the Corner Café instead.

The bell above the door chimed as she walked in. Apart from one or two customers near the register and the café staff, the place was quiet. There was a faint banging noise on the ceiling, as if someone was hammering something into the roof, but the atmosphere was warm and friendly with the smell of coffee beans roasting in the air. A smile came on her face as she eyed the cookies in the jar. They were her favourite kind; big, chunky and full of gooey goodness. But the worst was to decide which flavour she should get…

"Try the chocolate chip one, they are the best!" A cheery voice said above her.

She stroked her chin and observed the said cookie. It did look _really _tempting. "I think I will!" She looked up to thank the person for the suggestion and gasped as she saw the man in the apron. "Sora?"

"Hey Namine." The brunet barista smiled widely at her.

Her cheeks heated up instantly as she averted her gaze to the ground. She forgot that he worked here! It was the first time since _that _night that she saw him and she felt so embarrassed. She was the one who was supposed to be the one to make a good impression on him but instead she drank a bit too much and let her anger take control over her. "Um, how have you been?"

"I'm good, yourself?" He replied back as cheerful as before.

"Yeah, I'm okay."

He raised a brow at her but didn't dare to question her further. "So, what brings you here?"

"Just getting some food." She shifted her weight from one foot to the other, trying to look as casual as she could.

"Oh yeah! The cookie!" Sora picked up the tongs and placed her cookie in a bag. Handing it to her he asked, "Anything else for today?"

Namine's eyes gazed upon the menu that was on the wall behind the register but she still decided to get her usual. "And a large mocha too, please."

Sora calculated the total on the register and read it out loud, "That'll be 650 munny, thanks."

She grabbed her wallet and handed him the exact change.

After he counted it to make sure it was correct, he placed it in the till and pointed to the left to an empty spot next to the coffee machine. "I'll call your coffee out when it's done." Sensing that she wasn't much of a talker today, he gave her one last smile before serving the next customer after her.

Namine quickly scattered to the side and let out a sigh of relief. She wasn't sure how long she was going to last in that awkward atmosphere. Maybe she should apologize when he makes her coffee? It wasn't his fault. If it was any other day she would try to be a bit more talkative but today specifically she really didn't want anyone to find out why she was here. Especially not Kairi, which she knew he would probably tell her if he found out. Honestly, she did feel bad. Kairi was one of her closest friends and she had been avoiding the topic about her past ever since the day that the foster parents had showed up on their doorstep. Hell, she even hid the fact that she was in the medical centre today.

"Large mocha!"

Namine shook out of her thoughts and went to grab the drink that was on the bench. As her hand curved around the cup, another hand grabbed the other side of the cup overlapping their fingers over her own. "Oh, sorry!" She looked up to apologize to the other person. "I-" She froze as her eyes locked into the familiar cerulean pair before her and a glare instantly formed on her face. "You!"

Roxas blinked back at her, not even flinching at the sound of her voice. "I have a name, you know," he replied nonchalantly.

"Whatever." She huffed at him and looked away as her heart started to speed up. Facing Sora and the awkwardness was one thing, but dealing with her ex-boyfriend was a whole different story. She hadn't fully recovered emotionally from their encounter and she truly thought that she would never actually see him again. The feeling of his own fingers above her own made her blush and tried to muster the deadliest glare she could on her face. "Are you going to let go anytime soon? Or are you holding on because you know that this is the last time you'll ever get the upper hand?."

"What- you used to tell me that you like it when we held hands." He shot a sly smirk at her, which he instantly retracted as the brows on her face furrowed deepened. "I'm just kidding."

"Didn't I tell you to leave me alone?"

"I can't help it since you entered _my _work place." The smirk re-appeared back on his lips. "Not very observant, are you?"

Her eyes looked down at his attire and she saw he was wearing his trusty tool belt around his waist. '_That explains the hammering noises_,' she thought to herself. "Neither are you otherwise you would've known that this is _my _drink," she shot back at him and sliding the cup along the bench towards her.

"Your drink?" Roxas replied in annoyance. He slid the cup back to him. "This is _my_ drink."

"No, Sora clearly said a large mocha, which is _exactly_ what I ordered." Namine snapped as she pulled the cup, harsher this time.

"I ordered a large mocha too." _Slide._

"This is my one so wait for the next one!"

"I was here first so I should get this one!"

"Be a gentleman for once and let the lady go first!"

"Who says you are a lady?"

"Children!" Sora yelled suddenly, interrupting the two.

They both stopped bickering to look at him with frowns on their faces. "What?!" They said in unison, and turned to face each other again, shocked at the sound of their voice blending into one. "Don't copy what I'm saying!" They said together again.

"You're so annoying!"

"Same to you, stupid!"

"_Guys_! There is another drink," The barista interrupted again and dropped another large cup next to the one they were currently holding onto. "So, I beg you to please, _please_ stop making a mess!"

Namine looked at the table bench and gasped. The coffee had leaked from the lid and had spilled its content all over the table bench, creating several little brown puddles. She let go of the cup instantly and bowed her head slightly. "I'm so sorry, Sora! I'll clean it up immediately!" She grabbed a couple of napkins from the dispenser and started to wipe the spillage up.

"Don't worry about it," Sora flashed her an assuring smile and stopped her hand, picking up the napkins before chucking them away in a nearby bin. He took the cloth from behind the coffee machine and with one single wipe, he cleaned the bench top spill-free. "All done! And you," he twirled the cloth in one hand before whipping the spiky-haired blond with it, making a sharp cracking sound as it hit his skin. "Why didn't you offer to help, huh?"

"It wasn't my fault!" Roxas cried out defensively. "I was just grabbing my drink-"

"You mean, mine." Namine quickly interrupted him.

"-And then this witch started yelling at me." He frowned at her.

"Shut up, you're giving me a headache." Sora rubbed his temple soothingly. "The point is you're useless. Get back to work." He made a 'go away' gesture with one hand.

"Yes, boss." Roxas replied sarcastically as he sourly rubbed the spot that he was hit. He took one last look at Namine. "By the way, we need to talk."

"Yeah, yeah, talk later." Sora shooed him off as he whipped him again.

Namine let out a deep breath as she saw his leaving figure and turned to the barista. "You did that on purpose, didn't you?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Sora replied as he wiped the machine down. Evidence of a smile was heard in his voice. "He was just being annoying and I had to get rid of him."

Her lips curved slightly upwards on her face in response, grateful for his actions. He was really a good guy, although he doesn't admit it. Her eyes then landed on the other cup and her cheeks reddened as she realised Roxas had taken the cup that they were fighting over for and instead left her the full cup of coffee. The smile faded from her face as she started recalling the memories from three years ago, how they had the same taste and would start to sync their orders together. Mochas were _their _drink. Who knew that he would've still order it until this very day? But what got to her was the fact that he called her a 'witch' again.

"What is it?" The brunet asked in concern as he saw her expression turn gloomy, as if a dark cloud was surrounding her head.

"It's just…" She sighed and pushed the cup away from her. "Sorry, I'm not hungry anymore."

"What?" His jaw dropped. No one has ever rejected his coffee before! He even managed to get Xion to taste the espresso shot and she hated coffee! "Why not?" As soon as he saw her bit her lip and look away _again_, he knew it was useless. An idea popped in his head and he snapped his fingers. "Oh, I know! I bet I can make you drink this." He rolled his sleeves up and grabbed her cup. He had work to do.

"Huh?" Namine raised a brow at his sudden change in behaviour.

Sora tipped the contents of the cup into a blender and added two scoops of vanilla ice cream along with a couple of ice cubes. He put the lid on and pressed the button to blitz the ingredients together until it had a smooth creamy consistency. "I have the perfect recipe to cure a broken heart."

"...Why do you think I need this?"

"Because we, the victims of love, can sense one another." A sad smile laced his face as he got out a mason jar. He sprayed the inside of the jar with chocolate sauce before tipping the contents of the blender into the jar. Finally, he left his station for a moment to grab a Nutella donut from the shelf before placing it on top of the mason jar. "So, Namine, let me ask you this; why focus on your ex-lover when you're faced with one of these bad boys?" He winked at her as he pushed his creation towards her. "It might taste a bit funky because of the Nutella and coffee combo though."

Namine stared at the beauty before her in awe. How he made a normal cup of coffee into this delicious mouth-watering beast was just incredible. On one hand, it looked like it was packed full of calories but on the other, it smelt oh-so-good. "Wow." She exclaimed softly. "Now I know why Kai likes to take photos of her food."

"Heh, I try." Sora rubbed the back of his head sheepishly with a large grin on his face. He leaned forward on his palm as he watched her in amusement contemplating her thoughts. "You know, I like to think of my problems like this iced drink." He grabbed a nearby straw, "I find that when I'm faced with a problem I like to go straight through to the source," he pushed the straw down into the middle of the doughnut where the Nutella bit was showing, "so I can move forward and get to the better side." The straw was now delved past the doughnut and into the milky liquid.

She raised a brow. "Isn't it hard to get through the Nutella bit?"

"It can be quite problematic but you have to keep on trying and eventually you'll make it."

"What happens if it's me?" She asked suddenly in a small voice. "What if _I'm_ the problem?" Though it was easy enough to blame someone else, she knew that the whole ordeal between the two of them wasn't entirely _his_ fault. Blinded with rage, all this time she had refused to hear the spiky-haired blond out. Not even once had she tried to be nice to him and she knew that was halting their progress to recovery. But it was so hard not to be cruel, not when years of memories come flooding back and biting her in the ass to remind her how painful it was.

Sora widened his eyes momentarily before closing them and smiled warmly. "The walls you built around you can sometimes make you feel safe from the world yet in reality it's blocking you in your path of life. You try to move but you find that you keep running into the walls, leaving you stuck. That's why the people who care about you see these walls and try over and over again to break them down and help you through it."

Namine took in his words deeply as she felt her heart move. She knew his words came from personal experience and the sincerity he held in his voice was tugging at her own heartstrings. Even though it was hard, he was right and he was only trying to help her prevent herself from getting hurt even more. She let out a deep breath and for the first time that day, she looked straight into his eyes and uttered three simple words, "Thank you, Sora." Bending her head down, she opened her mouth to take a sip of her new drink, which a smile soon formed on her features as the flavours took over her taste buds.

* * *

"Did you like the bag?"

Kairi looked up from her computer screen to the owner of the voice. It was a rare sight for him to be alone. Even though he had just started at her department, he was always surrounded by people, more specifically the nurses in his little fan club. A frown replaced the content look she had on her face as she stopped typing. "Well, it made me fall off a cliff. So, what does that tell you?"

The silver-haired doctor widened his eyes momentarily at her before scoffing. "What a klutz."

She stared at him in disbelief. "What the hell? I could've died! And the next time you'd see me is when you're examining my dead body and telling the other medical students that my cause of death was because of your heavy ass bag!"

"It wouldn't be so heavy if you weren't so weak." Riku replied nonchalantly as he sat at the edge of her desk and got his phone out. "Plus, I don't want the next time I see you to be in the morgue. What about dinner next Friday?"

"I'm not weak, I'm just- huh?" Her anger subsided instantly as her cheeks heated up at his words. Did she hear him right? "What did you say?"

He flicked through his calendar on his smartphone. "Is 7 o'clock okay for you?"

"Wait- hold on!" She held her hands out in front of her frantically. "I didn't even say yes yet! What makes you think I'd want to go out with you?"

Riku looked up from his phone to shoot up a brow at her. "Is that a rhetorical question?"

Hearing the genuine seriousness in his voice, she chuckled lightly as she shook her head at his arrogance. "I'm not one of those girls who worship your every step, Riku."

"But you did call me beautiful."

"Th-That's not the point!" Kairi blushed and leaned back in her chair. It was embarrassing enough that he remembered her little mishap when she first met him, but for him, _the _famous Riku Turner, to be asking her out made her heart speed up even more. Maybe he was messing with her. There were millions of other girls he could've asked in the medical centre that would kill to go on a date with him, so why would he ask her? She let out an exasperated sigh as she put her arms behind her head. "I don't even know you, let alone _like _you. Can you comprehend this fact or is your head too high for you to hear the truth?"

He narrowed his eyes and leaned down close to her challengingly. "What if I can change that?"

"Eh?"

"If I can make you like me by next Friday, even if it's just a little bit, you'll have to go out with me." Riku proclaimed.

She slinked further back into her chair as she saw him slowly getting closer to her. "And what happens if I still don't like you?"

"Then I'll buy you dinner."

"Oh maybe- hey!" Kairi jabbed his side suddenly. "That means we'd still be going out!"

He laughed a little, thinking that he could get away with it. She was smarter than he thought. "Fine, I'll…" His eyes looked around her desk for a moment before landing on the computer screen. Though he saw its content briefly, he immediately knew what she was furiously typing about. "I'll write you a reference."

"Someone's unexpectedly nosey." She turned off her computer screen quickly and leaned into her palm. His name alone would definitely increase her chances to get in, but- "Riku, what makes you think I'd fall for you so quickly?"

"Because I always get what I want." A confident smirk played on his lips as he looked directly down at her. "So, what do you say?" He asked as he stretched out his hand towards her.

Kairi looked at his hand before her, contemplating her options. She wasn't one to reject a challenge. And besides, unless he got a sudden personality change in the next week or so, she was positive there was nothing he could do that would change her mind about him. Her own devious smirk graced her features at the thought and she shook his hand firmly. "Start writing because you're going to make me sound like a saint."

* * *

**Author's Note:**

_Fun fact! _The drink that Sora made for Namine is real. I'm serious! Google 'Nutella Donut Milkshake' and you will see pictures of a milkshake in a mason jar with a donut literally on top haha!

And I wasn't sure if you guys have heard of a 'donutella' before, which is basically a Nutella filled donut. Everyone should try it one day.

Thanks again everyone! :)


	12. The Day Of Donation

**-:-:-:-:-**

**Chapter 12: ****The Day of Donation **

**-:-:-:-:-**

Despite the sly smiles and gazes that were shot at him by the female species, Roxas felt nothing.

Normally he would return their smiles, maybe ask for their number and twirl their hair a little between his fingers to make them blush. But ever since he saw _her _again, he didn't have the heart to play with them anymore. It was as if he felt guilty knowing that he was flirting with other girls when she was somewhere among the island too.

That's why he was determined that the next time he saw her he would apologize. One, for being an ass, and two, he would properly explain the events that happened all those years ago. It was a much needed conversation that he would have loved to have on that night when he first saw her at the pub, however, he knew it wasn't right to do so when she was in that state.

As Roxas lifted his foot to step around the corner, he suddenly stopped once he saw the familiar strands of platinum blonde hair on the other side and slung back to the wall quickly. What was _she_ doing here? She didn't see him, right? He took several deep breaths to calm himself down. He was not prepared for their next confrontation so suddenly. Once again, he peered around the corner, this time observing her more closely. She was standing outside a room, as if waiting for whoever was in there to come out. Her hair had grown past her shoulders since he last saw her a few years ago, which he thought made her look even more beautiful. However, tiredness was apparent underneath her eyes and her face held a look of worry and sadness mixed together.

The door to the room suddenly opened and a woman wearing a grey suit approached her, snapping her out of her train of thought. A tired smile hung on her face as she gave the blonde a hug. "Thank you so much, Namine. You don't know how much this means to me and my husband." He heard the woman say gratefully. "And Xion too."

Roxas knew that eavesdropping was bad but curiosity got the best of him and he stayed hidden behind the wall, inching his ear closer as much as possible without being seen. Who was this woman? And why was Namine in the hospital in the first place?

"It's nothing, really." Namine shrugged and squeezed her even tighter.

"How did the tests go?"

"The results came back fine. The doctor scheduled me to have the procedure sometime this afternoon."

A sigh of relief escaped the woman's lips. "Great. The sooner the better. Xion can get well quicker and live a normal high school life."

"Absolutely. Um," he saw Namine shuffled her feet uncomfortably, "I was wondering if I can see her after? Only if she wants to, of course."

The woman looked back at the door and smiled warmly. "I'll ask her but I'm sure she'd love to meet her sister."

_Sister?_ Roxas widened his eyes. Unless her mother had another child within the last three years or that one of her parents had a child they never knew about, he knew that her sister had long passed away. He remembered that day specifically when she and her mother came knocking at their front door to announce the news, and the look that was on Namine's face was unbearable. It held a mix of emptiness and grief, and he knew he wanted to protect her ever since.

Once he saw the woman leave, he revealed himself from the corner. "Sister?" He asked out loud.

Namine cursed under her breath at the sound of his voice and looked back at him as if she was a deer caught in headlights. "Roxas…?" She should've learnt from the other night that he can pop up out of nowhere. Heart racing, palms sweaty, she didn't know what else to do except to bite her lip nervously. She didn't want anyone to find out about her sister, especially not him. "What are you doing here?"

"How- what… I don't get it. Why is your sister here?" Roxas asked her instead with curious eyes. "She died a long time."

Her eyes narrowed into slits at the mention of the tragic event that occurred years ago. "Well, she is very much alive today, thank you very much!"

He clenched his fist. He should've known better that it was a sensitive subject and he wished he had worded it better. "Sorry."

She was taken back by his apology and let out a deep breath. "Look," she crossed her arms. "About the night at the pub… I'm really sorry about how I acted. I got a bit drunk and became really immature." She looked down shamefully as her cheeks reddened. "I was just really pissed off at how we left things."

"You have every right to be," Roxas said softly as he averted his gaze to the ground. "But," he raised his head to lock eyes with her, "Stop trying to change the subject, how is your sister alive?"

"Th-This has nothing to do with you!" She snapped back at him quickly, her eyes fuming with flames. "Why do you care so much, Roxas?"

He blinked at her sudden change of attitude and felt his own feelings burning up. "I-"

"You clearly told me that you wanted nothing to do with me anymore, right?" Namine recalled the painful words he once told her. It was making her vulnerable but she wanted to get him away from her _stat_ and this was the only method she knew that would work. She needed to use his own words against him. "I don't know why you're here or how you even found me but can you please leave me alone? I need to deal with this on my own."

Roxas was left awestruck as he watched her leaving figure. "But…" She turned a corner and disappeared from his sight once again. "I do care…"

* * *

"Kairi Hart?"

The red-wine haired woman looked up to see who had interrupted her lunch. A young man wearing blue scrubs and a stethoscope around his neck was in front of her with a silly grin on his face. He held a bouquet of red roses wrapped in lavender paper in his hands nervously as he shuffled from one feet to another. Sweat was running down his face as he handed the flowers over to her and bowed before her. "Please accept this gift!"

"Wow, um," she blinked at roses that was in front of her face. "Thank you very much." She graciously took the bouquet from him and lifted them up to her nose to smell them, making her lips curve into a smile. "They're beautiful."

"Miss Hart! Miss Hart!"

Kairi looked behind him and saw another medical student running towards her. He pushed the other man aside as he kneeled down before her, holding an identical bunch of roses wrapped in lavender paper in his hands.

"A woman as beautiful as you deserve such glamorous flowers!"

She placed the bouquet on the table to accept the new roses. "Thank you-"

"Miss Kairi Hart."

The whole café stood silence as heads turned towards the single medical student who had just walked in the door. He held a confident smirk as he strode his way towards her with, of course, another bouquet of roses in his arms. With one knee bent down, he took her hand and kissed it lightly. "My lady, if you accept this precious gift that would mean the world to me."

"Aww, you boys! These are gorgeous!" Kairi smiled even wider and took the flowers from the third medical student. Her eyes landed on the card that was attached and she skimmed over the words inside quickly. "Wait," she said aloud as her eyes narrowed. "Did Riku literally just send his students to deliver flowers?"

The second boy nodded his head, making his blonde curls bounce with every movement. "Yes ma'am! He told us that whoever impressed you will get to go into surgery with him."

"You dumbass!" The first boy punched him on the shoulder, earning a groan in the process. "We were not suppose to tell her that."

"But judging by the beautiful blush on her cheeks," the third boy smirked, "I'd say our job is done. Let's go, chumps."

With a gesture of his head, they took their leave, waving to her before exiting through the door.

Kairi blinked blankly at the door trying to comprehend what just happened. She raised a hand to feel her cheeks, realizing that they were indeed warm. She shook her head to herself, chuckling at the situation.

"A flower? Is that all it takes to make you happy?"

She looked up to see the brunet barista standing at the other side of the counter polishing a glass cup. His lip was curved on one side as he raised a brow. "You clearly don't know a thing about delicacy and girls, Sora."

"Or you're just too simple minded." The smile on his face was left unfazed.

A crackle was heard in Kairi's mind. Her eyes narrowed into slits and she turned her head away from him. The nerve of him! So what if she was happy to receive flowers? Any girl would. "Hmph! Let me find someone else who would _appreciate_ this gesture." Her eyes searched the café, only to find the blond spiky-haired builder sitting by himself in the corner. "Roxas! Look!"

The blond lazily looked up to the sound of her voice. "At what?"

"At these flowers!" Kairi pointed to the roses laid out in front of her. Her eyes sparkled as she clasped her hands together in front of her. "Aren't they beautiful? This is how you should treat a girl properly."

"Oh." Roxas shrugged and turned back to the coffee that he was holding in front of him. "Cool."

Her jaw dropped at his response. "Wow, out of everyone I thought you'd be the one who'd understand." Disappointed at his lack of reaction, she returned to marvel at her gifts. Their responses didn't dampen her spirit. She could show more excitement for the three of them all by herself.

"Sorry, it's just…" He scratched the back of his head. "I'm so conflicted."

"What's wrong?" Sora asked in concern.

"I…" Roxas sighed breathlessly. "It's about a girl."

'_Must be about Namine,'_ Sora and Kairi both thought in sync before sharing a look with each other.

"She told me to leave her alone but… I can't." He twiddled his thumbs. "She's pushing away everyone because she wants to suffer all by herself." He looked up sadly to the duo. "What should I do? I don't want to mess up."

Though his voice was small and innocent as if he was a child, Kairi was still startled. She had never expected such a delicate tone to come out of a playboy's mouth. Or even the fact that Namine was suffering? How did she not know about this? And what was she hiding? She knew that her housemate had avoided her in some ways but she brushed it off to be that she was busy with work or something else. Guilt whacked through her veins as she mentally cursed herself for not noticing.

"Roxas," Sora's voice was calm but gentle. "Do you care for this girl?"

Cerulean blue eyes widened momentarily before locking onto his own firmly. "Yes." His voice was confident. "More than anything."

Sora's lips curved upwards at his response. "Then if you think what you should do feels right, go for it. Trust your guts."

Roxas stood up suddenly, making the chair topple over behind him. "You're right!"

"Eh?" Kairi raised a brow at his sudden outburst.

"Screw what she says! She does need someone!" His voice softened as his lips curved upwards suddenly. "She needs me."

"What... what kind of advice is that?" The red-haired asked in disbelief. "You hardly said anything."

"Because no matter what I'd say, he already knew what he was going to do." Sora smiled warmly. "You can't stop a man in love."

Before Kairi could utter another word, the blond had already left the Corner Café. The bell above the door chimed as the door closed with a bang. Ignoring the cries of concerns coming from his blond boss who had re-appeared from the kitchen due to the commotion outside, Sora continued to look towards the door as he mentally prayed for his two friends that everything will go well.

* * *

Roxas swiftly avoided the many people walking around the halls of the Medical Centre as he ran back to the same ward he saw Namine earlier that day. He stopped to catch his breath and placed his hands on his knees.

He looked left.

And to the right.

But there was no sign of the girl he was looking for.

He slapped his forehead stupidly. _'__What the hell am I doing? I don't have any idea where to start,'_ he cursed to himself before his eyes landed on the nurse's station in front of him. There was a young brunette nurse sitting by herself writing in a folder with incredible speed. A pang of guilt ran through him but he knew this was the quickest way that would make him find Namine.

He ran his hand across his blond spikes and leaned forward on the desk casually. "Hi," he greeted her with a breathless voice.

Green eyes looked up at the new figure as she dropped her pen with a cheerful smile. "Can I help you?"

"Actually, yes you can." He saw her do a double take of him and he smirked deviously. This was going to be easy. "I was wondering if Nams- I mean, Miss Namine Snow is here?"

She gave him a surprised look, but promptly got over it. "Sure thing, let me check." She turned her chair towards the computer next to her.

"I hope I'm not a bother." He leaned closer towards her, making his voice deeper and huskier. "I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"

He swore he heard her breath hitch in her throat as she fell victim to his charm. "N-No, no! It's fine." Her fingers entered a few keys and her eyes lit up. "Found her! She got taken in for a bone marrow donation procedure just a few minutes ago. May I ask your relationship to her?"

"Erm," he wasn't expecting this question. He knew his answer will ruin his whole composition but he had no other choice. "I'm her boyfriend," he replied confidently. Technically not, but a little white lie wasn't going to hurt, right?

"Well, what are you still standing here for?" A wide smile spread across her face as she stood up. "Follow me."

* * *

"Are you ready, Miss Snow?" The doctor asked her, her voice muffled slightly by the mask she was wearing.

The blonde nodded her head immediately. "Whenever you are." She closed her eyes tightly at the anticipation and repeated in her head, '_it's for my sister, it's for my sister.' _

Before the doctor could proceed, a crash was heard from outside the door, making her stop the needle inches away from piercing her skin. A 'hey!' was heard as the doors swung open, revealing a young blonde spiky haired man wearing scrubs and a mask over his mouth. His cerulean blue eyes searched the room frantically before landing on the blonde lying on her stomach in the bed. Her hospital gown was only worn from her waist downwards, exposing her clear porcelain back. His cheeks instantly turned red at the sight as he stuttered, "N-N-Namine!?"

"Roxas?!" Namine cried out and glared up at him _hard_. She tried to put her arms in front of her to cover her chest as much as she could. "Don't look, you pervert!"

"Oh, please." He replied quickly, the blush still evident on his cheeks as he held her gaze. "It's nothing I haven't seen before."

"W-Whatever!" This time, it was her turn for her own cheeks to heat up. "Get out of here, Roxas!"

"Young man," the doctor's stern voice boomed out from above her, needle still in her hand. "You can't just barge in here like that!" She gestured her head towards him at the nurse, who nodded in response. "There is a procedure going on at the moment!"

"I know, but- hey!" The nurse had grabbed his arm and started to drag him out of the room. "Let go of me!"

"Sorry, sir, but Miss Snow clearly didn't give you permission to be in here." The nurse said behind him firmly.

"You're not alone, Namine!" Roxas ignored the nurse and turned his attention back to the girl. He locked eyes with her. "I'm here."

"Sir, you _have_ to leave!"

"I know you're afraid." He continued to try to speak to her while struggling against the grip of the nurse, who was surprisingly really strong. "But above all, I know you'd still do anything for your family. I understand how hard it is to talk about something so personal when it actually is really complicated, and can make you feel very confused and vulnerable. Believe me, I really do." He gave her a knowing look.

"Young man-"

"But with the strength of someone else to support you, you can become strong. You don't have to bear the weight all by yourself and eventually it will make the situation a hell lot easier and smoother to go through. So, trust me on this and please don't try to do this all by yourself." His hand held onto the door, preventing the nurse from pushing him out. He still had more to say, but with the situation he could only muster out, "Do it for _Nora."_

Namine eyes widened at the name she hadn't heard in a long time. It sounded foreign in her ears yet it felt so right. "Wait."

The nurse stopped pushing the blond and looked at her patient quizzically.

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes before finally saying, "He can stay."

"Are you sure?" The nurse asked her gently as he let go of the man instantly.

Namine confirmed with a nod of her head. She was going to regret this later, but she knew he was right. All this time, she had felt like she was all alone in the world. She didn't believe her friends would understand her situation, or even her own mother. She was trapped in her own mind space wondering what her next move should be or whether she should actually believe the couple who randomly appeared on her doorstep one day. And as a result of these endless thoughts, she became vulnerable. She needed support. She needed _him_.

A smirk formed on Roxas' lips as he shot the nurse a triumphant look, who rolled her eyes in return. He grabbed a nearby stool and placed it at the foot of the bed where Namine's head was.

"This is the only time, okay?" Namine warned him as he sat down. "You're here for support and support only."

He chuckled lightly. "I told you that, didn't I?"

"I needed to make sure." She averted her eyes away from him gaze and looked to the ground where his feet was. He even had socks around his shoes. "How did you know I was here?"

"Uh," Roxas looked up to the ceiling for a moment. He definitely was not going to tell her about the earlier events. "Just heard it somewhere along the grape vine."

She frowned at him. "Roxas, seriously! If you don't tell me then- oww…" she winced, not expecting the procedure to start so suddenly. She closed her eyes tightly at the sensation of the needle.

"Namine!" He grabbed both of her hands into his own in front of him. "I'm here, okay? Don't worry." He whispered to her in a soothing tone. "Just squeeze my hand as much as you want."

Namine nodded her head and winced again. She felt him drawing circles on the back of her hand with his thumb, calming her down.

"Hey, remember that old duck Scrooge's house back in Twilight Town?"

She opened her eyes as she started recalling the memory. "The house with the white curtains drawn all the time?"

"Yeah, but we could still see his silhouette?" Roxas grinned. "And everytime we passed his house he was always making loud slurping noises as he licked a long _hard_ object -"

"Roxas!" Namine interrupted him with a glare. "Out of all stories you tell this one _here_?"

He chuckled as he saw the nurse's disapproval stare. "Don't worry, it was only ice-cream."

Namine rolled her eyes and tried to suppress her laughter as she saw the look on the nurse's face. Despite the situation, she was supposed to be pissed at him. But right now, she couldn't. Not while he was trying to comfort her by distracting her with stories.

Roxas took out one of his hands from the hold and started stroking Namine's hair to one side. "What about that time…"

* * *

An hour later, the procedure was completed with no complications.

The medical staff had left the two in the room to themselves, with the donated bone marrow was collected down with the doctor to the lab. Most of the anesthesia had subsided but she still needed someone to watch over her. A grim expression was cast on her face as she sat in the wheelchair watching her ex-boyfriend help her slip on her shoes.

He noticed her silence and stood up so he was eye-level with her. "Hey, what's wrong?" He rubbed the length of her arms up and down. "Are you cold?"

"No," Namine shook her head slowly, her platinum hair swaying in the air with every movement. "But can you do me one last favour?" She asked quietly.

"Anything." Roxas smiled gently at her.

"Come with me to see her?"

His heart sped up in his chest at her request. He wasn't expecting that. In fact, he thought she'd want him to leave once it was over. And plus, he didn't think that he would see her sister at all. He was only thinking about Namine this whole time. "Of course." He stood up and held the handles of the wheelchair. "Let's go!"

It was lucky that her sister's room was just a few doors down otherwise he wouldn't know what to do with the endless silence that was between them as he pushed her through the ward. He passed by the nurse's station, with whom the brunette nurse was still there writing her notes. She noticed the two and gave him a quick smile, which he nodded back at her in appreciation.

At last, he stopped in front of room 358. Their breath hitched in their throats as they stared at the number plate hanging next to the door handle on the wall.

"This is it." Roxas announced and squeezed her shoulder for reassurance.

"This is it." Namine repeated after him softly. She gulped and raised her right hand to knock on the door. It was now or never. After taking one last deep breath, she picked up her courage and rapped her knuckles on the door three times before placing her hand back into her lap.

After a few seconds, the door opened to reveal the woman in the grey suit that was talking to Namine earlier that day. "Namine!" A look of surprise spread on her face at the sight of Roxas behind her. "Who-?"

"This is Roxas." Namine looked back at him and smiled slightly. "I've known him for a very long time. He knows Xion too, actually." She held onto the hand that was on her shoulder and gave him a small squeeze. "You can trust him."

Seeing the connection the two had with each other, the woman relaxed instantly and her lips graced a smile once again. "Yes, definitely." She opened the door wider to make space for the wheelchair. "Please come in, you two."

The room was bright. Almost too bright. Someone had drawn opened the curtains letting the white beams of the sun of Destiny Island into the room, keeping the gloominess of her condition away. There were several machines standing near her bed, making several 'beeping' noises. Another man in a suit was sitting on the chair at the opposite end of the room, who gave her a small smile and a nod to her companion. But Namine wasn't focused on any of them. Instead, her eyes were trained on the figure sitting in the bed. There was a catheter line clearly inserted into her chest, but it was hidden by the hospital gown she was wearing. Her short choppy black hair swished around her face as she turned to look at her visitors with curious blue eyes. "Hello," she said to the duo casually.

"Hi," Namine replied breathlessly and continued to stare at the younger girl in front of her. She wanted to touch her hair, pinch her cheeks, anything! Her little sister was not so little anymore. She was breathing, blinking, talking, and _living_. The reality of the situation was a whole different feeling than seeing her sister in photographs. She still couldn't believe it. After all these years of presuming she was dead, her baby sister was here. She was alive!

Roxas was stunned momentarily. The baby he remembered that used to drool all over his arm whenever he held her had grown into a teenager with raging hormones. He regained his composure and looked at the blonde in front of him. Sensing the feeling that the two girls needed their own space, he pushed the wheelchair to the edge of the bed before joining the woman in the suit who was standing at the door.

"Mom, who are they?" Xion asked the woman.

"Xion, dear-" As soon as the words left her mouth, her voice started to shake. "Th-This is Namine." She struggled to put a smile on her face as soon as the tears escaped her eyes. She sniffed loudly as she tried to announce in a confident tone, "She's your sister."

Roxas felt his own eyes starting to water as he watched the teenager experience the stages of realization. First, her brows furrowed tightly together, as if trying to figure out what her mother was saying was a joke or not. "Sister?" She repeated quizzically. Next, her eyes widened as she pieced together the puzzle of the events that had lead up to today. How she got aplastic amnesia just a few months ago, how she needed to find a donor, how busy her parents had been, and most importantly, how they found a match so quickly. She instantly looked back and forth from her adopted mother to the blonde in the wheelchair. "No way," she whispered in a small voice. Her hands cupped over her mouth as a lone tear trailed down her left eye. "No freakin' way…"

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Gaaah it finally happened!

Just to clarify; I am definitely not a doctor and have no idea how bone marrow transplant works. Everything is based on information that I've googled and also Grey's Anatomy. So, if you think something is wrong please tell me :)

In case anybody is wondering, sorry if there's too much Roxas and Namine in this story so far. It's still essentially a Sora and Kairi fic... but their growing relationship is... just... developing... very slowly... ehe :P

**THANKS EVERYONE! **


	13. The Day Riku Had An Epiphany

**-:-:-:-:-**

**Chapter 13: ****The Day Riku Had An Epiphany**

**-:-:-:-:-**

On Monday, Riku gave her flowers. Roses to be exact.

The night before Tuesday he scouted out the finest chocolatier on Destiny Islands. Suffice to say, they were able to neatly produce twelve of the smoothest chocolate pieces he had ever seen.

On Wednesday, he surprised her with small, but simple diamond earrings wrapped neatly in blue tissue paper on her desk.

And on Thursday, well… unfortunately, he didn't see her at all.

But either way, every single one of his attempts was futile. Especially when he saw her share the box of chocolates with the porcupine idiot from the Corner Café. With every present that he sent her, she always had the same response;

"It's really nice," Kairi would start off and give him an apologetic smile. "But I still think you're an ass. Better luck next time, eh?" And she ended it with patting his head.

A pat on the _goddamn_ head.

Who did she think she was? No, who did she think _he_ was?

He wasn't some elementary student that needed some encouraging nor was he some animal that needed sympathy. She was looking down on him. She was looking down on _Riku Turner_. It was that single fact that infuriated him more than ever. But unbelievably that made him even more determined to make her like him. No matter what the costs.

Smarts, looks, reputation… what more could she possibly want more in a man? He was literally the full package. The nurses worshiped him, patients asks him to do their surgeries, and he even had his own Wikipedia page. So, why the hell didn't she give in to him? If she was a normal girl then he would have no problem at all. But she wasn't. Damn it.

Friday morning came flying by and it was sometime after he had a night duty shift that Riku came to an epiphany. He realized that she still _accepted_ the gift even though she bluntly told him what she thought of him. The tiredness from the night made him angrier as he mentally declared that she was a scammer. A no-good, dirty, cheap, scamming little -

"Oi, Riku!"

Aqua eyes flicked up to the black-haired man sitting opposite him. "What?" He barked back, the sound of his own voice surprising him a bit.

"You okay, man?" Zack's blue eyes looked at his fellow co-worker in concern. "You've been mumbling to yourself for the past ten minutes."

Riku blinked blankly. "Oh." He didn't realise he was thinking out loud.

"I always knew this day would happen." A new voice appeared as a mint chocolate frappucino was laid out before him while another regular cup of coffee was put in front of Zack. "The fame and glory has finally gone to his head and made him go nuts."

Riku glared up at the brunet barista. "I am _not _crazy!"

"Uh, uh, Riku." Sora wagged a finger in the air. "The first stage of craziness is denial."

"Why you-"

"Sora!" A blue-haired woman called out angrily from behind the counter. "Get your ass back here!"

"Coming!" Sora called back and hurriedly rushed back to the coffee machine.

Riku ignored the cheeky tongue that the barista stuck out at him before he left and mentally tried to calm himself down. His eyes landed on his drink and he opened his mouth to take a sip, feeling the rush of sugar and caffeine through his taste buds waking his senses up instantly. "I hate that idiot."

"He makes a good coffee, though." Zack grinned widely as he took a sip of his own drink. "Ah, that hit the spot!"

"Hmph." Riku gruffed and observed his surroundings.

This was the first time since he came to the café this early and he already disliked it. The morning was crazy! There was a massive line of customers dying to get their morning kick and he and his co-worker were just lucky enough to get a table. Instead of the usual three workers, there was an added fourth member, whom he presumed to another manager as he had never seen the blue-haired woman she wore a slim-fitting black suit.

"I feel sorry for that waitress," Zack commented suddenly. "How can she still smile when it's so busy?"

Following the fascinated gaze of his comrade's eyes, Riku indeed felt some form of sympathy for the light brown-haired woman. In one hand, she was carrying a large black circular with at least twenty filled drinks. He mentally applauded her skill as she managed to walk without spilling a single drop. Though it was busy, she still kept her warm composure intact with a smile. However, it was the bustling of the café and how the customers impatiently all pushed each other to get to their order that made him thank the stars that he wasn't in her shoes.

But he spoke too soon.

As Riku turned his head around to mutually agree with his co-worker, a loud crash was heard and a woman screamed. He saw the waitress that was standing up moments before was now on the ground sitting in a puddle of spilled coffee and several shards of broken glass were scattered everywhere. A distress look was on her face as she clutched her arm in pain.

On instinct, the two doctors stood up from their chairs and ran to the fallen woman immediately. Carefully avoiding the broken glass on the ground, they knelt beside her to examine the damage.

"Miss-" Zack started to say calmly to her. His frown deepened as he saw the level of degree the burn was. "We need to cool your arm down immediately. Please follow me!" He helped her up gently and led her to the kitchen as fast as he could.

Before Riku could follow the two, a hand stretched out in front of him stopped him from doing so.

"One doctor is enough for now, thanks." Ventus dismissed him quickly and followed his employee to the kitchen.

Riku frowned but complied with the blond's wishes. He was right. Besides, he trusted Zack to get the job done. His eyes averted back to the mess that was on the floor, which was now being cleaned up by Aqua.

The café was already down two people and it was still in the middle of the morning rush. The line had only grown longer and some of the customers were already complaining about the long wait to get their morning coffee. '_Shit, I wonder what they're going to do now'_, he thought to himself and made the fatal mistake of looking up.

Ocean blue eyes instantly locked onto his aqua ones from across the room.

They must have shared the same thought because not a second later the barista started to pout out his bottom lip, widened his eyes a little bit bigger and whispered, "Riku, you'll help out won't you?"

Whisper was a huge understatement as nearly every pair of eyes in the room turned towards the silver-haired doctor in anticipation. Their one and only idol of the medical centre, Dr. Riku Turner, was going to be a hero and save the coffee shop from crumbling! Sly grins and nodding heads were shot at him, egging him on to say 'yes'.

Riku shot the barista an incredulous look and shook his head violently in response.

Oh _hell_ no! The porcupine idiot did that on purpose! He was twisting the situation and using his reputation against him so that he would help the cafe. The fact that everybody was staring at him didn't ease the tension either.

"I don't even work here!" Riku protested.

"Um, technically you do." Sora smirked as he saw the scowl on his face deepened. "Besides," he emphasized, "you come here every day. You basically know the way around this place. It'll be easy for you."

"What!" Riku stared at him in disbelief. "What kind of reasoning is that?"

"It's only for a couple of hours until we find a replacement." Sora pouted his lips out again. "Please?"

Riku was about to shout back the dirtiest profanity that would make the ears of little children and the elderly bleed blood until -

"C'mon, Doc!"

"Please, Dr. Turner! I need my morning coffee!"

"I believe in you!"

Voices started to encourage him from all directions pushing him to say 'yes' to no end. He felt dazed as more and more people joined in.

"Don't be a coward!"

Something in Riku's head snapped at the mention of that word. Coward? Pft! He was a doctor for goodness sake! What could possibly scare him? He narrowed his eyes at the growing crowd of customers, who only looked back at him eagerly.

Suddenly, nervousness began to whack his body as sweat started to bead up on his forehead and he pulled on his shirt collar. He knew he was hot, however, it wasn't the heat that he was feeling; it was stress. Seriously, he was a man that could cope under pressure… but this was another kind of influence. This was freaking _conformity_.

There was no way was he going to crumble under peer pressure, and there definitely was no way in hell was he going to help out the spiky-haired barista who got him in this mess.

Nuh-uh.

* * *

"I would like…"

Riku stared at the customer with a grim expression.

The social influence of the customers had won and succumbed him into finally accepting to don the signature brown apron of the Corner Café.

What was he supposed to do in this situation? He couldn't yell at the barista and embarrass himself again after the first incident.

"Did you get that?"

Riku shook out of his thoughts and his vision focused back on the man in front of him. He frowned at the sound of his tone. "Of course." Was he trying to accuse him of something? "A large cappuccino, right?"

"Um," the man averted his eyes to the floor nervously, sweat was running down his balding head as he pulled on his shirt collar. "Yes, doctor."

"That'll be 450 munny."

The man gave him the correct change and shuffled quickly to the side of the coffee machine.

"Next!"

"Riku!"

Riku turned his head to see the spiky-haired brunet with his arms crossed against his chest standing behind him. "What?"

"That man ordered a small chai latte and a slice of chocolate mud cake." Sora let out a dejected sigh and placed two fingers on his forehead. "Do you even listen?"

"He should have said something then." Riku shot back defensively.

"He couldn't because he was too scared of you!"

"I can't help it if I'm too intimidating."

"Speaking of intimidating," Sora checked off another item on his list that he had to tell Riku off for, "You have to be nicer to our customers. Didn't you ever learn how to say 'please' and 'thank you'?"

Riku rolled his eyes in return. He wasn't in the mood to get lectured.

"Sora!" The blue-haired woman stormed to him from the dining area with a rolled up paper docket in her hand. Her eyes fumed with flames as she stared him down. "Don't tell Riku what to do!"

Sora shrieked as he tried to shield himself from her attacks. "What-ow! Aqua! You're just like a feminine Ven but slower!"

"What is that supposed to mean?!"

Riku smirked in amusement at the scene before him. Out of all the workers here, he liked her the most.

"And it's my job to tell people what to do." She stopped her attack and turned towards Riku, her short hair bouncing swiftly through the air. "Clean out your ears and be kind to our customers!"

His smirk faded from his lips and he took back his last thought instantly. He just stood there as he took in her yelling, doubting her leadership position in the meantime.

Aqua blew the strand of hair out of her face as she placed her hands on her hips. She let out a deep sigh. "I know being here is not what you want to be doing in your spare time," her eyes flicked to Riku's own aqua ones sympathetically, "but you guys need to put your pride aside and not fight in the workplace. Try to get along until Vanille arrives, okay?"

Sora tried to interject. "But-"

"Understood?" Aqua barked out loudly.

"Yes, ma'am!" The two younger men both saluted her at the same. They gave each other a death stare before Sora hurriedly went back to his position behind the coffee machine.

"Riku," her voice captured his attention again as he locked eyes with her. "Hurry up and serve that customer. She's been waiting for a while." She gestured to the elderly lady waiting patiently at the register. As she saw Riku gaze over to her, her bright blue eyes widened slightly.

He raised a brow in response. Was that fear he detected?

"Go ask how her day was." Aqua pushed him back towards the register, not realizing that he had walked away from it. "You might be surprise what kind of customers you get." She added, a smile hidden in her voice. "And be nice!"

Riku gave Aqua one last glare before sighing as he turned around. "Hi…"

An unpleasant smell filled his nose and he took sight of the customer's clothes, which were crinkled and several dark stains were spilled on her top. Her short pure white hair was messily combed to the side and she wore the smallest knitted purple hat he had ever seen. Despite her poor appearance, there was something familiar about her that he couldn't place his finger on…

"A small latte with… three sugars…" The elderly lady croaked out slowly, almost doubtfully.

Once he saw her innocent crooked smile, Riku widened his eyes slightly as he finally recognized her. "Mrs. Potts?" His doctor instinct started to kick in. She was one of his regular patients that he saw weekly. "You're a diabetic."

"I like my coffee sweet, though." She tested him.

"Your blood sugar level is already as high as it is. We don't want it to hit the roof again, now do we?" He replied in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Does that mean I can have a slice of cake too?"

"No, Mrs. Potts."

He saw her frown in confusion for a few seconds before her face broke out into a smile. "Heh, you're like my son! I thought I could get away with it like I always do but with you… you don't let your patients get off track, do you?" She laughed heartily and she reached over the counter to pinch his cheeks. "I'm glad that you're my doctor."

While he was rubbing his cheek in pain, Riku couldn't help but feel her words tug at his heart strings. That was the first time in his career that someone had ever heard told him that. "Thank you," he replied softly, feeling his own lips curve upwards slightly.

"Just a white tea then, son."

"Good." His smile turned into a triumphant smirk, "That'll be 350 munny, please."

Mrs. Potts took out her red knitted coin purse from her bag. As soon as she flipped it over, several coins of silver and gold hit the bench with a clang. "Is this the correct change?" She knitted her brows tightly.

Riku gave a small chuckle and shook his head in disbelief. "Here, let me help." He picked up a silver coin that was slightly bigger than the others. "This is a 50 munny coin…"

* * *

He didn't want to admit it but Aqua was right. The scowl that was once permanent on his face an hour ago was no longer there. After listening to several of his customers, Riku surprisingly found that he enjoyed talking to them. After word had spread that the hottest doctor was working at the café, people from all around the hospital had taken time out of their schedule to take a glance at the rare sight. Some people were from other worlds, while some were actually patients still in hospital. One moment he would always remember was when a group of expecting mothers came down to ask him to touch their growing bellies. According to them, he had a lucky touch.

Despite having a grudge towards the brunet barista, working side by side with him was vastly different. They had a strange dynamic that worked well, making the service run smoothly and fast. He took the order, wrote it on the cup, and then passed it to Sora, who brewed the coffee order under thirty seconds. He found that when he was working, Sora would remain professional and finish the job in the best way possible. He kept up with the demands of the orders with ease and made friends easily with his customers. At the end of the morning rush, Riku managed to find his personality somewhat tolerable, even finding himself laughing at his goofiness at times. He realized that the barista was still an idiot but had a good heart.

Feeling embarrassed, Riku remembered his first time in the Corner Café where he got humiliated by the barista. But now, working behind the register and interacting with the customers, he could understand why the aroma had a lovely atmosphere. He would never admit it out loud but… it didn't feel too bad.

"Nice." Sora gave a low whistle from the coffee machine as he picked up the next coffee cup order. "You're actually pretty good at this."

"What can I say?" Riku shrugged, a smirk slowly formed on his face. "I'm a natural."

Sora rolled his eyes. "Crap, how did I forget you were a cocky bastard?" He threw a coffee bean at him, which Riku dodged swiftly.

"Riku?!"

Riku turned his head back towards the register where he heard the familiar high-pitched voice. He felt himself freeze as he saw the red-wine hair girl gaping at him. "Kairi."

"Hey, Kai!" Sora called out cheerfully.

Kairi gave a cheery wave at the barista before turning sharply back towards Riku. "What are you doing here?" She hissed at him in a low tone while narrowing her eyes at him suspiciously. "Is this another one of your little ploys to get me to go out with you?"

"Kairi, even I wouldn't go that far." Riku pointed out. "And that's saying something."

She relaxed her composure and let out a nervous breath. "Good. I was beginning to think that you were getting desperate."

"Nah, I've just been busy..." He trailed off. His brows knitted together as he saw her trying to suppress her laughter behind her palm. "What?" He couldn't help but ask.

"Nothing!" Kairi put her hands in front of her quickly. "It's just… a surprise to… see you in an apron." She struggled to get the words out of her mouth without chuckling.

"It's disgusting, I know." Riku sighed. "It makes me feel like a peasant."

"But you look like you're enjoying it." Kairi eyes shined brightly. "You look really cute when you smile."

Riku was taken aback. "Huh?" The edge of his lips started to twitch upwards.

Kairi froze. And then panicked. "I-I mean!" She mentally cursed herself once she realized what she had said. She really needed a filter on her mouth because this was happening way too much for her liking. "I-I don't think you look ugly or anything because in fact, you're the, um, opposite! You already know I think you're beautiful and- wait." She widened her eyes. "Crap! Is this the second time I've called you beautiful? Wait- no! Oh my god, I just did it again-"

He only stared back at her flustering face as she stumbled over her own words. The entire day had dampened his mood but as soon as he saw her face, he felt his whole day get brighter. His anger that he felt towards her earlier had already melted and he couldn't help but think that she looked simply adorable right now. Unlike the other women who loyally followed him, she didn't care about his holier art thou character. She was actually one of the few people who saw him for who he was and that attracted him to her in the first place. Once he started to work with her, he picked up the interesting bits and pieces he had found out about her. Though her personality was fiery as her hair, she still had her bashful moments.

Riku couldn't help but chuckle. "So, if I show you my smile you'll go out with me tonight?"

Kairi's cheeks only reddened even more. "I didn't say tha-"

"Dr. Turner!" Selphie gasped loudly from behind her friend. She gave him the biggest smile. "What are you doing behind the counter?"

"I got demoted." Riku replied quickly.

"What!"

Kairi snorted at the obvious lie.

"He's just kidding, guys." Sora came over with two cups of coffee, obviously knowing their regular orders. "You look down on us too much, Riku." He handed the larger cup to Kairi.

"Who doesn't?"

Sora's irritation flared up in an instant. "Hey…"

Riku ignored the protests coming from the barista as he focused on the red-haired walking away. "I'm still waiting for your reply, Kairi." Hope was laced in his voice as Riku called out to her before she was out of sight.

As if on cue, Kairi turned bright red as every pair of eyes turned to her. Did he really have to announce it to the whole store? She hurriedly took a seat to hide her embarrassment.

"What did Dr. Turner mean by that?" Selphie asked her when they were alone at the table.

Kairi started to get nervous. The situation she really tried to avoid with Selphie had inevitably found her. "Um… remember how I got all those gifts earlier this week?"

"Yeah?"

"They were from..." Kairi turned her head away as she mumbled the last part.

Selphie raised a brow. "From who?" Curiosity was chewing on the edge of her mind.

"Don't get mad…" Kairi pleaded with her as she rubbed the back of her head uncomfortably. "They were from Riku."

Selphie's jaw dropped. "WHAT?"

"I know, I know!" Kairi blushed as she finally admitted it out loud. "He wants to go out with me… tonight!"

The brunette frowned as she tried to swallow the situation. "So… why won't you go out with him?" Selphie asked her slowly. "If I was dating him right now I would be doing all kind of things to him, if you know what I mean." She wiggled her eyebrows dramatically.

"Ew, Selphie!" Kairi blushed and raised her hands in front of her. "Too much! Do I have to remind you every time of what would Wakka say if he heard all these things you say about Riku?"

"Oh, don't worry. He knows and he agrees with me." The brunette laughed and regained her composure. Kairi had met the happy orange-haired man only once but she could easily imagine him agreeing with every word she said. He didn't know it himself but he was totally whipped. "Seriously, though. Why not?"

Kairi sipped on her drink cautiously. "He's way out of my league."

Selphie laughed dryly. "Honey, we both know that ain't true. You're almost as good as him."

"What? Really?" Kairi asked in bemusement. She never once thought she was popular.

"Yeah, I hear the male nurses talk about you all the time." Selphie grinned as she saw her cheeks turn red again. "It was only a matter of time for Dr. Turner to have his eyes on you."

"I…" Kairi let out an exasperated sigh as she slumped back in her chair. "I don't know! He's always so up himself and moody. It's a total turn off."

"But look at him now." Selphie gestured at him with her head. They watched him serve a pregnant woman holding hands with a toddler. After he placed her order on the register, he smiled down at the young child and gave him a high-five. "He's changed. Before I could hardly talk to him without feeling that he was somewhat superior to me but now, it felt more… relaxed."

She swallowed. "I know, but…"

"I mean, I know you have this image of your perfect man-"

"I have not."

"Yeah, sure." Selphie rolled her eyes. "Anyway, so despite all the _obvious_ perfect qualities Riku has, he _still_ doesn't meet your standards. But when you love someone, you… just do, you know?" She shrugged casually. "Standards don't exist anymore."

Kairi kept her mouth shut stubbornly. Although, Selphie had guessed correctly why she was still skeptical of Riku, she wasn't about to tell her she was right. "Is that what happened between you and Wakka?" She asked in awe.

A light pink hue spread on Selphie's cheeks and for the first time since Kairi had met her, she swore she was acting shy. "In some ways." She replied as her eyes softened.

Kairi couldn't help but smile and admire her friend. Just from her expression, she could see that Selphie really did love her boyfriend.

Selphie sensing that Kairi needed time to think about her decision she decided to give her one piece of advice that she had learnt by watching romance movies. "Why don't you give him a chance?" she asked. And with that, she stood up to throw her cup in the bin, leaving her friend alone to her own thoughts.

* * *

**Author's note:**

This chapter is finally completed! Woooo!

Not sure how I feel about it but eh... it had to be done. I wrote the first half of this chapter back in January but I could never finish it. Curse you, writers block! *shakes fist angrily*

But we finally got to see more of Riku! Hurrah! Originally Zack wasn't even going to be in the story at all but recently I listened to '**The ****Price of Freedom**' in the FFVII: Crisis Core soundtrack, which lead to the scene of his death, which further lead to more cut scenes of him and Aerith, and then I... undoubtedly... fell in love with his character. Haha ;P

Anyway,

**THANKS EVERYONE :)**

|13-03-2016|


	14. The Day Ventus Perfectly Proposed

-:-:-:-:-

**Chapter 14: ****The Day Ventus Perfectly Proposed**

**-:-:-:-:-**

Sora furrowed his eyebrows as he stared intensely at the screen. What kind of da vinci code is this? "Thanks… for… the…?..." He read aloud slowly.

"What are you doing, kid?" Ventus asked as he watched the barista having an internal battle with himself in amusement.

"Kairi sent me a text message but," he showed his phone to him. "It's so hard to decipher. I mean, why does she type like this?"

Ventus peered down into the tiny screen.

_Thx 4 d coffee dis morn. It was rly gross. Lol. Jk. ;-)_

Ventus looked back up at the brunet in disbelief. "First off," he started. "You need a new phone." He held it up with his thumb and index finger incredulously. "Is this block font?"

"It was cheap and the battery life is amazing." Sora exclaimed defensively, snatching his phone back.

"Secondly," he emphasized the word to show that he was ignoring him. "How do you not know chat speak? You live in a technology generation!"

"Doesn't mean I owned a computer when I was a kid."

Ventus laid a sympathetic hand on his shoulder. "You poor thing…" A melody rang from his pocket and he grabbed his much bigger phone from his pocket. "Hello?" He muttered an excuse and walked back into the kitchen.

"Here you go, Sora."

"Thanks Aerith," Sora grabbed the paper docket from her. He winced slightly at the sight of the large white bandage on her arm, "How are you?"

Aerith smiled back at him, grateful at his concern. "Getting better. It doesn't hurt anymore." A pink tint highlighted her cheeks. "Luckily that doctor was there otherwise it would've been a lot worse."

"Yeah -"

"Damn it!"

Ventus returned a second later with a distress look on his face. He put his phone back in his pocket and placed two fingers on his brow in deep thought. Lines crossed his forehead and he closed his eyes shut tightly.

"What's wrong, sir?" Sora asked once he handed out the coffee to the customer.

Ventus looked up and leaned against the wall in defeat. "I ordered a cake from Beast's Castle's bakery but there's been a mix up and they can't deliver to my house today. I have to go there after work to pick it up but I don't have any time." He sighed. "Everything was going to be perfect but now… what should I do?"

"I'll do it."

Hope filled his eyes as he looked at Sora. "What, really?" The dilemma he was in just a second ago was now gone. He wasn't expecting Sora to agree so spontaneously. Or at all, actually.

"Yeah, it's fine." Sora dismissed him with a wave of his hand. "Kairi will understand that I can't get ice-cream with her later."

Ventus contemplated his options for a temporary moment. A wide smile soon graced Ventus's lips as he pushed himself off the wall. "Thanks, Sora." He slapped him on the back heartily.

"I'll drop it at your house after – "

"No, don't go there." Ventus interrupted him quickly. "Meet me at the beach. I'll text you the address later."

Sora raised a brow up suspiciously. "Okay then." He proceeded to make the next coffee order. "Why the beach?"

Ventus vidibly stiffen at the question. He turned around to his employee and took a deep breath. "Because I'm, heh... " A silly smile was playing on his lips as his eyes lit up. "I'm going to propose to Aqua there," he declared with confidence.

He swore he heard a glass drop from the kitchen as the whole café became silent.

Aerith had stopped serving to stare back at him with wide eyes, while Sora's jaw fell to the floor. It was the froth from the overheated milk that snapped him back to reality as it spilt all over his hands. "Crap!" He cried out and quickly turned it off.

"Congratulations Ventus!" Aerith smiled and gave her boss a hug.

"Thank you." Ventus squeezed her back.

"Wait, hold up!" Sora spoke up as he wiped his hands on a cloth and came towards the duo. "You guys were dating?"

The silly smile returned to his face as he said in a matter-of-fact tone, "Six years from today, actually."

Sora was caught off-guard. "Oh, wow okay." That is a long time. Out of all the times he saw the two together, he never once thought they were together-together. Sure, they looked like close friends, but lovers? They must have kept their personal lives really private. "Does she know about your, erm -" he leaned into his ear - "Adventures?"

A blond eyebrow shot up. "Adventures?"

"Yeah. You know…" the barista trailed off. Seeing the blank expression on Ventus' face he continued nervously. "The cheerleader team... the school nurse… Ms. Porter-"

"OH!" His eyes widened in realization. He quickly covered the younger man's mouth with his hands, not wanting his other employee or customers to know of his embarrassing past. "Who told you that?!"

"It doesn't matter." Sora managed to take his hands off of him. "Does she?" He inquired further with curious eyes.

"Don't worry, kid. She does." Ventus chuckled lightly as he remembered his past.

President of the chess club, confident and being blessed with angelic looks, he managed to have a string of ladies lining up at his feet ever since his voice started to crack. But his playboy ways was demolished once he met her.

Ventus was in his first year of college when he finally saved up enough money and moved out to share a room with his best friend, Terra. It was then that his friend had introduced him to his childhood friend, Aqua. It was awkward at first since his initial impression of her was that she was his girlfriend, and he left quickly as soon as she walked in their room. If it weren't for the college dorm room regulations stopping her, he thought she might as well be their third roommate since she was there so often. She wasn't like the other girls, he thought. True to her name, her long blue hair and sharp ocean eyes caught attention to all kind of guys left and right. It also didn't help that she wore tight-fitting clothes to show off her overgrown bust. But to him, she was the one girl he couldn't touch. Apart from the fact that his best friend would have killed him if he played with her heart, he knew the mean and strict personality that laid underneath her captivating exterior and it made him avoid her as much as possible.

However, that all changed on one lazy evening when one of his girlfriends at the time had overstayed her visit in his room and as usual, Aqua walked in. Thinking that he was cheating on her with Aqua, the girl accused him and an argument soon heated up. Fed up with her whiny attitude, Ventus seized the opportunity and admitted that Aqua was indeed his side bitch, and slyly gave her the loudest and sloppiest kiss on the cheek in front of his girlfriend. Though wide eyed at first, Aqua unexpectedly played along quickly. By the end of the night, Ventus was newly single and had also acquired a newly black eye.

Shortly after she had forgiven him, they became friends. He found her freakishly organisation and teaching skills to actually help him pass through his classes, and she found his mere presence to be somewhat useful to get the campus boys off her. The once duo became a trio and they stuck together ever since then. From college to career prospects, the two boys pushed their way to the top and she followed closely. As they grew closer, cupid struck his arrow along the way and their love-hate relationship escalated to something else. Quick jabs here and there turned into tentative touches that lingered, and playful smirks were now warm smiles that held meaning to them. He couldn't deny that she changed him for the better, and he hope she would continue to.

"So, why are you retiring from your sleazy ways and settling down?" Sora's question brought his attention back.

"I think you should know that I don't do that kind of stuff anymore. Aqua would've kicked my ass to the other world if I did," Ventus laughed at the thought before looking up to the ceiling. "I guess when you find the one, you just know."

"I don't understand." Sora blinked, confused.

"Think of it this way - I know that she comes off as bossy and she's a total neat freak." His smile widened. "But when I wake up in the morning and I see her there, right next to me - that's when I know. She always manages to open her eyes slightly and greet me 'good morning' with a sleepy smile. The sun is shining on her face and she has no makeup on, but she looks like an absolute angel. And I think to myself, 'This is what I want to wake up to every morning.'"

Aerith sighed dreamily while Sora, still, kept blinking at him. He really didn't get it.

Noticing the confused expression still stuck on the barista's face, Ventus shook his head. "You'll know what I mean one day."

"Yeah, one day…" Sora scoffed.

"How are you going to pop the question, Ven?" Aerith asked as she wiped down the counter top.

The smile returned to the blond's face. "I thought about this a lot. She isn't the kind of girl who like clichés so Disneyland was out. Flash mob? Nah, too much time and effort. Onion ring? Pft! I might as well give her an empty sausage roll to put on her finger."

"So...?"

"Terra and I found this perfect beach off the main island that we're going to decorate later with her favourite flowers and her favourite dish. After she left for work this morning, I planted rose petals leading up to our bedroom with a dress and heels that I picked out for her." A mischievous glint came into his eye. "All she knows is that I'm taking her out as usual but she needs to do is meet me here. Then we'll eat and I'll pop the question as we watch the sunset! Easy, right?"

"That is still cheesy as hell." Sora commented.

"Cheesy or not..." Ventus got lost in his thoughts. "It has to be perfect."

* * *

Sora hanged his apron up on the wall and smiled. Another work day done.

"Hey, I'll just put away these and we'll get going, okay?" Ventus told him, holding the clean cups from the kitchen.

Sora nodded. "Sure." He put his hoodie on and was about to text Kairi to cancel their ice-cream outing but found that she had sent him another text. He clicked the button to open the message.

_No ice-cream 2day. Roku is takin me out 2nite. Soz. :-(_

Sora frowned. Roku? Who the hell was that? Maybe it was a typo. Kairi did make a lot of short cut words after all.

He gasped.

Shit.

She didn't mean _Roxas? _It certainly was no Roxy but it still did sound like an awfully cute nickname for him. Maybe he finally charmed his way into her heart? But what about Namine?

He had to stop her. Even if it meant his car breaking down.

"Where are you going, Sora?" Ventus asked him as saw the boy rushing past him. "Every second counts!"

"Don't worry, I'll get the cake in time!" He called back, half way out the door. "I need to go see Kairi!"

"Seriously! Can't you do it another day?"

He didn't get an answer as Sora was already gone. He was quickly walking down the halls and out the door of the medical centre. Before he knew it he was sitting in the front seat of his car trying to turn on the engine. For once, he wished that his car would do what it's supposed to do and start immediately.

* * *

_Knock knock!_

"I'll get it!" A cheerful voice was heard on the other side of the door.

Sora waited patiently as he took a step back and looked expectedly for the door to open.

The door opened a few seconds later, revealing the red-haired girl. "Hey," she greeted cheerfully as she answered the door. She wasn't expecting to see him at all. "When did you finish work?"

Sora took in her appearance. Her hair was curled lightly, make-up was on and… what was that nice cherry scent? He shook out of this thoughts quickly. "Not that long ago." He replied back curtly. Actually, he came straight here, but she didn't need to know that.

"O-kay…" Kairi raised an eyebrow at his response, sensing some tension in the air. "Make yourself at home." She replied sarcastically and closed the door behind him.

He sat down at the kitchen bench while eyeing the multiple pair of shoes were standing by the door. Various makeup brushes were scattered on the dining table as eyeshadow palettes were stacked on top of each other. He frowned as several items of clothing were thrown on the couch. "Hot date?"

"What - is it so hard to believe that I'm going out with someone?" She rolled her eyes at him through the full-length mirror. "Didn't you get my messages?"

"No, I did." Sora knitted his eyebrows together and crossed his arms. He didn't want any additional drama so that's why he came straight to her instead of going to Roxas. Maybe he could talk her out of it.

"Okay, what's up?" Kairi misread his expression and turned around to look at him, hands on her hips. The new edginess she felt was bothering her and she didn't like it when someone was mad at her. "Are you angry that I can't get ice-cream with you? We can always go another day and besides, I think I'm gaining weight!"

"No, that's not it." He ran a hand through his spiky locks. How was he supposed to bring this up? "It's just-" Screw it, he was going to say it - "How can you go out with him? Do you know how dangerous this is?"

"What?" Kairi raised a perfectly arched eyebrow at him. "You're starting to sound like the other nurses now." She went to the couch and picked up two jackets, holding them to herself in the mirror.

"You know what would happen in the long-run, don't you?"

Her cheeks reddened instantly. "It's too early to be thinking about that. We literally just started dating." She turned to him holding the jackets.

'_Definitely the one on the left._' "Right." Sora watched her contemplate his 'choice'. "But what about Namine?"

"What about her?" She asked defensively and lowered the jackets.

Sora was taken back. "How could you do this to her? Don't you girls have a 'girl code' or something?"

"What does that have to do with anything? I mean, sure, she helped to do my hair today. But she approves of Riku!"

"Riku?"

"Yeah," she rolled her eyes again. When she didn't get a response she added slowly, "The guy I'm going out with…" She overlooked his strange behaviour and held up the jacket he chose. "Are you sure about this?"

"You should've asked Namine about her opinion then." Sora shot back. "Why are you asking me? Maybe it would be better if you didn't go out at all tonight then."

Okay, what is his problem? "You came when I was getting ready. And he already made reservations so I can't back out."

Sora closed his eyes and massaged his temples, trying to work out the situation. "When did you start going out with Riku? How come I didn't hear anything about him?"

"I don't know, you just never ask. Hell, I don't even know anything about _your _love life."

"Isn't it a bad idea to go out with someone who you work with? What happens if you break up?" Sora questioned as he watched her hurriedly pace around the apartment.

"Then we do." Kairi took a deep breath to calm herself down and tried to ignore his penetrating stare. It was fruitless as she couldn't help but turn around a second later. "What?"

"I didn't know you were that kind of girl."

"What kind?" Kairi waited patiently.

Sora gave her a look. "With your illusion of your perfect prince charming and finding true love crap – " He dodged the hair tie she threw at him – "I thought you would only stick to one guy at a time."

She felt offended. "Who else am I dating?"

"Roku." Sora finally responded. "Isn't that a pet name you call Roxas?"

Kairi choked on her own spit. "Whoa – wait, wait! When did I _ever_ call him that?"

"In your text- you said you were going out with 'Roku'." He pointed at his phone. "Why are you going out with Roxas?"

"I'm not!" She denied strongly. She grabbed her phone from the kitchen bench and checked her own messages. Her face relaxed from the frustration into a soft chuckle as she saw where his accusation was coming from. "I made a typo and meant Riku. Why would I go out with Roxas anyway? Wouldn't it be weird with all the… you know… and Namine…" She trailed off.

It took a moment for all the information to register for Sora. So he misunderstood the whole situation and she's not going out with Roxas. Good, good. But Riku?

Kairi thought she had at last understood where all the hostility was coming from but from the frown still stuck on Sora's face, it felt like she was still missing something. "What else do you need to know?"

"Nothing." Sora stood up suddenly. "I have to go."

"Oh, okay." His arrival had made her as baffled as his exit, but she followed him towards the door anyway. "Let's get ice-cream next week?" She smiled, trying to lighten up the mood.

"I thought you didn't want to gain weight?"

She merely shrugged. "Yeah but once in a while should be fine"

"Same with Riku."

"Huh?" Kairi didn't hear his muttering.

"Never mind. Just be careful." Sora called over his shoulder as he walked down the hallway. He didn't know what came over him to say that. If only she had stayed home and watch a movie like she always did, everything would be perfectly fine.

She scoffed at his warning. "Yes, sir."

"I mean it."

Kairi paused as she watched his disappearing form. She was used to his usual cheerful tone but this time, it was significantly different. What was that all about?

She shook her head as she went back inside her apartment. She had to get ready for a date and Sora's arrival had distracted her enough. She wasn't going to be late.

* * *

In the twenty-seven years that he had been alive, Ventus Kizuna never felt anything like this before. His forehead was sweaty, heart racing, hands shaky… "Is this what they call being nervous?" He asked out loud to himself.

Roxas chuckled as he placed a chair down on the sandy beach. A Nikon camera that he had borrowed from his friend was strapped around his neck. "Get a grip. You'll be fine."

"What happens if she says no?" Ventus couldn't help but wonder. He placed the other chair on the other side of the table and leaned against it dramatically.

"Bro," Roxas slapped him on the back. "I've seen the way you look at her. And frankly, she looks at you the same way." He gave an encouraging smile. "There's no way she'll say no."

"See, that's where you're wrong."

Ventus turned towards the familiar deep voice. "Terra." He smiled widely.

"She's not going to marry a man who can't tie his own bow tie properly." Terra chuckled as he fixed the blond's black bowtie. "There."

Ventus gave him a wide grin. Terra was one of the few friends that he fully trusted and confided in him with everything. He was like the older brother he never had. The only time they had ever conflicted was the day Ventus told him that they were dating and it completely shocked him. He smiled at the memory. "Thanks, man."

"Ven!" Sora came rushing towards them with a box in his hand. "Got 'em!"

"Thanks, kid." Ventus took the box from him and opened it. Sugar instantly filled his senses and he smiled. It was a simple strawberry shortcake but it was the best in town. "You're a life saver." He started to plate the cake and put a silver bowl over it.

"Any time." The brunet wiped the sweat off his brow. At the sight of Roxas, his cheeks reddened slightly in embarrassment as he recalled his earlier conversation with Kairi.

Ventus took a step back at the scene with a proud grin. A single stem rose was placed in a vase in the middle of the table and lightly dimmed lanterns was scattered around the beach. Her favourite dessert had arrived just in time and was laying underneath a silver bowl, waiting to be revealed. Terra had placed speakers all around the beach so that he could play her favourite tunes. The sun was just setting slowly enough so when he proposed it would hit the ocean at the right angle. It was going to be perfect.

"Okay, people!" Ventus clapped his hands loudly. "So, the game plan for tonight is that Terra is in charge of music and Roxas is the photographer. Some of her other friends and family are coming later but I want you all to hide behind those palm trees for now." He pointed to the trees about twenty feet away from the shore. The trunks were thick enough for them to be hidden from view. "It's important that she does not see anyone until after she answers the question!"

"Why not?" Sora asked.

"Because I don't want to put her on the spot." Ventus told him in a matter-of-fact-tone. "Plus, if she doesn't want to marry me and there's a crowd, she's not going to hesitate to embarrass my dumb ass in front of everyone."

"Oh." Sora didn't think about that.

Everyone froze and remained quiet as they heard footsteps coming from the footpath that lead the public to the beach. Feminine voices was heard from that direction.

Ventus acted quickly. "Everybody go hide!" He pointed towards the palm trees

Frantic footsteps ran along the sandy beach towards the palm trees as Ventus straightened himself up. He swallowed loudly and tried to calm his beating heart.

"Ven?" Aqua's voice echoed along the beach.

Her form finally came in view a second later. Her short blue hair was dangerously straight and a black blindfold was over her eyes. She was wearing a little black dress with a sweetheart cut that showed off her curves perfectly. Matching black heels was on her feet and she took little steps once she hit the sand. Her sister was holding her side as she walked along with her, making sure she didn't fall.

He gestured to the palm trees where everyone else were hiding and she nodded her head in response. She let go of her sister once Ventus took over in holding her and hid herself as well.

"Hey, Aqua." Ventus blushed as he did a double take. "You look beautiful."

"Thanks. You chose well." Her cheeks reddened. She was happy when she saw the rose petals to their bedroom and found the outfit he picked out for her. She thought Ventus was just taking her out on another date. But when her sister picked her up and started to blind fold her… that scared her. "So, any chance of finally taking this off of me?" She asked with a hint of a smile.

"Of course." Ventus chuckled and untied the blindfold from her head. "Happy Anniversary."

Once her eyes adjusted to the lighting, her lips parted in awe. Though Destiny Islands had plenty of beaches, this beach was different. It was as if it hadn't been touch by man. The water was crystal clear, crashing softly against the shore with every wave. From what Aqua could tell, the sand they were standing on was white and clear. The place had a sense of peace.

"Ven… this is wonderful." Her smile widened as she saw him standing in a dashing black tux with a single rose in his hand. "Aww, you're so cute."

"Thanks, honey." Ventus smiled as she stood on her tip toes to kiss him.

"How did you manage to find this place?"

"I, er… just happened to stumble across this place." Ventus rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. It was the truth. He literally fell from the path and rolled down the hill until he hit this beach.

Aqua giggled and looked around. There was a table with a white cloth on the beach and two silver top dishes. Light music was playing from god-knows where. "Is this…" she frowned slightly. "Is this Ed Sheeran?"

"Yup."

"But you hate him." Aqua commented. "With a passion." She added.

"As long as we don't listen to 'Drunk In Love' on repeat, I'll put up with him for one day." He shrugged and took her hand, leading her to the table with the same scattered rose petals around them. He pulled out the chair for her. "Here, sit down."

"Thanks, what is this?" She asked curiously as she sat down.

"Oh, you'll see." Ventus smirked and lifted the silver top from the dish. His smile widened as he watch her face lit up with excitement. "Bon appetit!"

* * *

"A-Aqua!" Ventus said suddenly, his voice a bit too loud.

Aqua looked up at him with curious eyes "Yes?" She had just finish eating her favourite dessert and enjoying the warm breeze. Hues of pink and orange blended in with the blue sky as the sun was about to set on the horizon. It was truly beautiful.

Ventus held her hands from across the table. He started to become self-conscious. Was his bow tie on right? Is his hair okay? Oh god, he hoped his hands weren't sweaty. He coughed behind him nervously and smiled crookedly. "Aqua… I-I – " Crap, where did his confidence go? He had a whole speech set out but when it came to the actual moment, his mind went completely blank. "W-When we first met, I had no idea that you would make a big impact my life. I-I thought you were, um, beautiful."

Aqua raised a brow. "Thanks…?"

He prayed that his heart didn't fail him now. "I-I, um, knew from that moment when you walked in and I was with Meg – "

"Meg?" She frowned. Why is he bringing up his ex-girlfriend now? Especially _her_?

Ventus gulped. Damn it, he had stuffed up already! "I-I mean! She was pretty – " he froze when he saw her eyes narrowed – "N-No, wait, she was ugly as shit and too skinny compared to you."

"Are you calling me fat?!"

"No!" Ventus quickly defended. "You have the right proportions for a woman of your size…"

From the palm trees, several pairs of curious eyes watched the scene unfold. The atmosphere had suddenly turn sour and Sora desperately wanted to intervene, or at least, get the hell away from here. The confidence his boss always wore was no longer there and his form was crumbling as quickly as the beads of sweat was rolling down his forehead.

"Oh my God, Ven." He heard Terra groan next to him. "You had one job."

"Should we go help him?" Sora whispered. His eyes looked back at the couple and saw the dark aura cloud that was around Aqua's head had now created lightning. He swore he heard a crackle.

"Nah, this is Ven's own mess. He made it and he'll clean it up." Terra told him sternly. He had faith in his friend.

"I can't believe you!"

Sora saw Aqua stand up to leave and turned on her heel sharply, walking dangerously close to the water. Sand flew up with every step she took.

"Aqua! I didn't mean to bring her up!" Ventus cried out desperately, following her.

"Yeah, sure." Aqua rolled her eyes.

"Listen to me - "

"Just go jump in the ocean, Ven." Aqua replied coldly. "God, I can't even look at you right now!"

"Wait, Aqua – " Ventus made a quick move to follow but his foot got stuck under the sand. "I wanted to say – " He fell face first, water splashing all around him. The next thing he knew, he had a mouth full of sand. He spat it out to the side. "Blegh!"

Aqua stopped at the sound of commotion and turned around. All the anger she was feeling before had washed away instantly as she saw him on all fours in the water. She couldn't help but snort with laughter. "When I said to jump in the ocean I didn't mean it literally..."

He shot her a dirty look while trying to stand up. His tux was ruined! "You find this funny, don't you?"

"Hilarious." She giggled and turned around to leave. She hadn't even taken a step away when something wet hit her on her lower back. Her eyes widened in horror as she looked behind her. "My dress!"

"Sorry, my hand slipped." Ventus gave her an innocent smile underneath his dripping bangs.

Aqua opened her mouth to protest but Ventus threw another handful of wet sand in her direction. It hit her in the centre of her chest.

"Damn, my aim is on point." Ventus grinned cheekily.

"You better stop."

"I can't control myself." He threw another one. "I think Vanitas is coming out again."

Her eyes narrowed sharply. "Don't say I didn't warn you."

Ventus let out a cry as he felt her arms around his middle, tackling him back to the sand. Water splattered everywhere around as he landed on his bottom. Wet sand hit him square across his face. He wiped away the dirt with the back of his hand and saw the triumphant smirk on her face.

"Oops." She mocked him. "Payback's a bitch, huh?"

He was about to protest but stopped as he saw her. She was sitting in the water opposite him cackling her head off. Her dress was completely soaked and her short hair was plastered to her face. She was a mess but hearing her own laugh caused him to laugh along as well.

"You have seaweed on your head." She leaned over to him to pick off the slimy green algae trapped between his spikes and threw it back into the sea.

Ventus couldn't help but to study her face. The light from the sunset perfectly highlighted her natural beauty. Her little pointed nose was scrunched up into several lines as she smiled, and her eyes beamed with happiness. His face softened as a smile crept onto his lips.

Seeing the calculated look he was giving her, she blushed slightly. "What is it?"

He chuckled and reached into his pocket, feeling for the small black box. He was surprised that it didn't fall out after all this time. "Aqua…" He took her hands into his own. "Marry me?"

All of a sudden she felt like the air was sucked right out of her lungs and she found it harder to breathe. Her heart started to speed up. "What?" She uttered out breathlessly.

"Marry me." His voice was gentle as he repeated himself. "I…" He looked down for a mere second before regaining his confidence. "I wanted today to go as perfect like you've always imagined. Perfect flowers, perfect food, and perfect man." He chuckled when she punched him in the center of his chest. "Okay, _almost _perfect. But that's the truth. I'm not perfect. And despite knowing that, you're still here. Honestly, I should be thanking you for putting up with all the craziness you go through with me… I-I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Ven…" Her eyes started to waver.

"You've given me a reason to succeed, a reason to better myself and most importantly, a reason to live. You've helped me realise how important family is and taught me how to be there for mine. You know me better than I know myself and seen me at my best and worst. You're my best friend, my other half, my heart and my soul. I would have never imagined that you would impact my life this much and frankly, I couldn't imagine walking through life without you." Ventus pulled out the small black box and opened it. "Will you marry me?"

Aqua looked down and her eyes widened at the sterling silver ring with a snowflake cut diamond in the middle of it. Like any other girl her age, of course she had anticipated this moment but she didn't expect all of her feelings to hit her all at once. This was a totally different sensation than what she had ever imagined. She covered her mouth with her hands as she started to cry.

"Aww, honey." Ventus chuckled as he cradled her head with his hands. He wiped her escaping tears with his thumb. "Don't cry." He soothed her and kissed her forehead. "You're going to make me cry." His voice broke at the end.

She laughed as she saw his eyes starting to water.

"So, is that a yes?"

Aqua lost her composure again as she nodded her head, her hair flicking droplets all around her.

His face broke out into a smile instantly. He put the ring aside on the shore and wrapped his arms around her tightly. He kissed her lips tenderly and laid his forehead against hers. "I love you," he whispered softly as he gazed into her eyes.

"I love you, too." Aqua managed to choke out with a broken smile. She couldn't believe this was happening.

Ventus took the ring out of the box and slid it on her slim porcelain finger. She held her hand towards the sky, admiring the glint that shone from the sun. Though simple, it didn't need any side stones to enhance its beauty. It stood out on its own.

"It's beautiful, Ven." Aqua whispered in awe.

Cheers and wolf whistles echoed from the palm trees. The duo looked up to see their friends running towards them. Terra, Roxas, Sora, her sister and friends… everyone was there!

She looked at Ventus accusingly. "Did you…?"

Ventus shrugged and cheekily poked his tongue out in response.

Her eyes widened momentarily but she couldn't help the smile that escaped from her lips. She could forgive him this time. Excitement built up inside of her as she tried to stand up in the water, holding onto Ventus's shoulder for support. She knew she looked like a wreck and that someone was recording the moment, but she didn't care.

"Guys!" Aqua squealed frantically and held her hand towards the crowd rushing towards them. "I'm getting married!"

* * *

**Author's note:**

Woo! Quick update! This is what happens when I procrastinate :P I didn't really anticipate that this chapter would go for so long, though. Haha, oh well.

Title inspiration came from Cinderella III's '**Perfectly Perfect**'.

I always thought that Ven's proposal would pinpoint the halfway mark of this story. Wow. Look how far we have come, eh? Let me know what you think!

**Thanks everyone.**

|17-03-2016|


	15. The Day Roxas Was Stupid

**-:-:-:-:-**

**Chapter 15: The Day Roxas Was Stupid**

**-:-:-:-:-**

Namine walked into the Corner Café. She was supposed to meet Kairi at the front of the medical centre for lunch but since her meeting was running a few minutes late, she told her to go ahead.

She spotted the familiar brunet barista and waved to him. "Hi Sora!"

"Hey," Sora smiled back at her. He put down the clipboard he was holding next to the register. "What can I get for you?"

"One large mocha." She paused. "Oh crap, I don't know what Kairi wants." She thought out loud and rubbed her chin. "How does she like her coffee?"

"With skimmed milk," Sora replied absentmindedly, already writing her order on the paper cup. At the sight of her skeptical look, he continued. "She's trying to be healthier but she always get a slice of cake as well." He chuckled with a shake of his head.

She giggled along with him but nonetheless took his advice. "I'll get her the chocolate mud cake too then, thanks."

Namine found herself moved along to the side, eagerly waiting for her order to be ready.

"Namine?"

Namine flinched at the sound of his voice. She knew he would appear out of nowhere but it always surprised her, especially after their last encounter. "Um…" She wasn't sure how to approach the situation.

"Uh," Roxas rubbed the back of his head uncomfortably. Apparently he wasn't sure either. He saw her from the window outside and the next thing he knew, his body has lead him towards her. "Hi."

"Hi." She smiled back nervously at him and pushed back a stray hair behind her ears. "How are you?"

"Good, you?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Here you go, Nams!" Sora called out.

Namine let out a sigh of relief. Thank god Sora had impeccable good timing. He came right before the awkward silence could hit them. "It was nice seeing you, Roxas." She flashed him a smile. "Bye!"

"Wait – " Roxas grabbed her hand before she could leave. "Is that all you're eating?" He frowned at the coffees.

"Um, yes?" She raised a brow. This is what she usually ordered for lunch. She didn't see anything wrong with it.

"Namine, you need some real food," Roxas told her firmly and gestured for his brother. "Yo, Ven! Give us a few ham and cheese sandwiches."

Ventus looked at him from behind the counter suspiciously. His mouth parted slightly when he saw the blonde next to him and nodded in understanding.

"Ven's here too?" Namine wondered aloud slowly. She hadn't seen him since… she shook out of her thoughts as she saw Roxas walking over to the register to pay. "Wait – hold on! What are you doing? I already have food."

He gave her an incredulous look. "That – " he pointed at her cup. " – Is not food."

"Yes it is."

Roxas paid her no attention as he started to take out his wallet.

Namine huffed and placed her hands on her hips. "Stop! I'm not even that hungry." However, she spoke too soon and the moment got ruined by the rumbling of her stomach. She instantly turned a dark shade of red. Out of all times!

"You were saying?" Roxas smirked. He ushered for Ventus again. "We need a couple of cookies as well!" He added to spite her.

"Oh, no, now that's too much!" Namine cried out, still embarrassed from before. Her eyes widened when she saw Ventus filling the plate up to the brim. Even with Kairi's help, they wouldn't be able to finish it.

"It's okay."

"But – " Namine stopped once she saw his face. She knew that look he was giving her. Once he was determined to do something, he would go through with it all the way. No matter what the costs were. She let out a defeated sigh and laughed. "You're unbelievable." Namine took out her own wallet. "At least let me pay for it – hey!" He snatched her wallet out of her hand. "Give it back!"

"Not until you eat something."

She tried to reach over him but he only held it higher, away from her. Damn it, she had forgotten how tall he was. "Give it!" She pulled down on his sleeves in an attempt to bring his arm down. "Roxas!

"Not a chance."

"I swear – " Namine's voice got muffle as she felt him cover her face with his free hand. "No, stop!" She pried his hand off of her. "Your hands are huge! They can crush my head without meaning to!"

"I'll try to be gentle." The wicked smile on his face told another story.

"Just give it back, you… you big tree!" Her lips started to twitch upwards. "Don't make me climb you!"

"You wouldn't."

Her eyes narrowed dangerously into slits as the grin slowly disappeared from his face.

"Sorry, I'm late!" Kairi came rushing into the Corner Café. She was stunned momentarily as she saw the two blondes freeze at the sound of her voice. "Namine – " she smirked. "- I see you were busy."

Namine's cheeks instantly turned red. "N-No, Kai. It's not what it looks like!" She had jumped on his back at some point with her legs wrapped tightly around his waist. One of her hands was holding onto his shoulder for balance while the other was trying to reach for her wallet. She glared down at him accusingly. "He stole my wallet!"

Roxas smiled innocently at the redhead as he bent down so she could get off of him. Once his defense was lowered, she immediately seized the opportunity. "What – "

"Yes!" Namine held her wallet above her triumphantly, adding a skip in her step before Roxas could take her wallet away again. She handed a few notes to the brunet barista. "Victory is mine!"

He gaped down at her. "That was dirty. I was distracted."

"Aw, don't be a sore loser, Roxas." Namine poked at him playfully.

He shook his head at her and chuckled. "Whatever, here."

Namine looked at the forgotten plate in his hands filled with various types of sandwiches and flavoured sweet cookies. Her mouth started drooling at the sight and she opened her mouth to thank him, but as she saw the genuine smile on his face, something clicked in her mind. After all, they had started that little scuffle because he wanted her to eat. She was greatly touched that he was concerned about her… in fact, the last few times she had seen him all he did was be concern about her.

The smile from her face faded as she stopped herself, hovering her hands above the plate. Her brows furrowed in confusion. Why was he taking care of her? What was going on in his mind? "Roxas…" She clasped her hands in front of her and turned her head away. "Sorry, I can't."

"What? Why not?"

"I just can't."

Roxas put the plate down on a nearby table as he sensed the sudden coldness in her voice. "Namine?" He reached out to place a hand on her shoulder but pulled back once he saw her flinch back.

"Sorry, Kai." Namine flashed her an apologetic smile. "I have to go."

Before Kairi could say another word, Namine left the café. She was confused. What just happened? Her amethyst eyes glanced back at the other blond, who was still watching Namine's leaving form. She then looked at the barista, who was watching the scene the whole time. She made a face at him, as if she was communicating telepathically.

'_You ask him.' _

'_I don't want to.'_

Kairi raised her brows up at him until he finally caved in.

"Uh, so Roxas… man," Sora started to twiddle his thumbs. He sucked at this. "I'm just going to address the elephant in the room – "

"Kairi's right here." Roxas informed him. "Ow!" That earned him a much-needed slap on the arm from her. At least his humour was still intact.

"What happened to you guys?" He asked more straight forwardly.

Roxas stopped rubbing his arm to give him a questioning look. "What do you mean?"

"One minute you guys are… somewhat… civil to each other... then suddenly she doesn't want to be anywhere near you."

Roxas just merely shrugged.

"_Roxas_."

"I don't know!" Roxas threw his hands up in a mock defense stance. "She's a girl. I don't know how her mind works."

Sora picked up a glass and started to polish it slowly. "You used to date her."

"Keyword; used to."

"But how did you guys break up?" Kairi couldn't remain quiet anymore. Curiosity had been spilling out from her since the day that she found out they were exes and that answer didn't satisfy her.

The blond looked back and forth between her and Sora. He rubbed the back of his golden spikes in frustration and let out a deep breath. "You really want to know?" He closed his eyes for a moment. "Three years ago... I thought that nothing could come between us. But I… I made a stupid mistake…"

* * *

_/Three years ago.../_

Roxas slowly opened his eyes as he felt the rays of the early morning sun peeking through the curtains and onto his face. He stretched out his arms lazily as he placed his hands behind his head. Hearing the fumbling in the bathroom, he shook his head as he chuckled to himself. '_Such a klutz.'_

A moment later, the door opened revealing the flustered girl. She hurriedly pulled up her black pencil skirt up to her waist, tucking the white blouse she wore inside. Her wavy short hair was neatly combed to one side and he thought the light makeup she wore only enhanced her natural beauty. He sat up in fascination to watch her as she sat on the edge of the bed to roll up the nude coloured tights from the tip of her toes to the top of her legs. Noticing his gaze on her, she finally asked, "What are you looking at?"

"You." Roxas replied with a warm smile on his face. "You're so beautiful."

A light pink blush tinted her cheeks immediately. Namine crawled across the bed towards him and cupped his face affectionately while looking into his eyes. "You're not too bad yourself." She grinned before giving him a quick peck on the lips. "I have to go."

"Not unless you're trapped by the Roxas-cage!" He quickly flipped her over so she was underneath him. Both of his hands were next to her head as he smirked down to her. "Can't escape now, can you?"

Namine blinked up at him before bursting out into a laugh. "The Roxas-cage? Really?"

"It's better than the Roxas-flytrap or the Roxy-web."

She rolled her eyes and jabbed his sides. Instantly, he rolled over and clutched the sides of his abdomen, groaning in pain. "Why are you so easy to escape?" She laughed behind her palm. "Did you forget the lock and key?"

"Well," Roxas chuckled as he snaked his hands around her waist and moved his lips against her earlobe. "I'll need to use the keyhole for that, don't you agree?"

Namine sighed in content before she suddenly became very much aware that his bare chest was pressed against her back. Her face turned red again and she jabbed him once again. "Stop it."

"Aw, come on." He pouted as he laid his head on top of her head. "What do you say we stay in bed all day?"

"Mmm, go on."

"I'll call in sick, you call in sick, and we'll hold each other from sunrise to sundown." A smile was heard in his voice. "Just me and you and the dying cockroach in the corner."

"More like just you and the dying cockroach." Namine rolled around to face him. "I really can't miss this interview."

"You'd rather go to a boring interview than spend a day with your amazing, beautiful and fun boyfriend?"

"He is?" She replied innocently. "Let me know when you find him."

Roxas rolled his eyes. "You're hilarious."

"Oh, honey I know." Namine stuck her tongue out at him cheekily. "Don't look so sad, Roxy." She patted his cheek soothingly. "This job could be really good for us. You were the one who told me to go for it. We prepared way too hard to let this go. Plus, Axel will kill you if you play hooky."

"Screw him, he can work by himself." Roxas muttered darkly. He recalled the endless nights of practicing interview questions over and over again trying to perfect her answer. "Don't worry. You're going to nail it, Nams."

Namine chuckled at his tone. He was still sulking. "Hey," she got his attention. "Just so you know it goes from you, then work." She leveled her hand high in the air before lowering it. "You're always before anything else, okay?"

Roxas snapped out of his broody thoughts instantly, a smile slowly curving on his lips. He knew it but damn, it still felt good to hear it out loud. "Do you know how much I love you?" He kissed her forehead.

"I love you, too." She returned his smile and wrapped her arms around his waist. "I still need to go."

"Five more minutes?"

Namine rolled her eyes at his childish behavior and snuggled closer into his embrace. "Fine."

* * *

"Oi, Roxas! Are you trying to get us fired?"

"I'll be right back," Roxas flashed his best friend a sly grin before continuing to climb the ladder.

Axel scowled back up at him and sighed. He didn't think much of it at first since the blond was acting like his usual adventurous-self but really, he should have stopped him at this point.

As Roxas reached the top of the site, he ignored the wind as it blew through his golden locks harshly and stood up on the wooden boards that held the floor together. There was nothing else to hold on to but he felt like he had a good balance. With a triumphant smile, he looked at the scene before him. From the mansion in the forest to the train stations, he could see it all. The top view of the clock tower was able to be seen as well, which was a rare occurrence as the clock tower was the tallest building in the town. The rays of the sun was hitting the buildings in a way that created a warm orange shade over the town.

Roxas looked at the scene for a moment longer and got his phone out of his pocket. He swiped upwards to get to the camera function and held his phone up to the scenery. "Namine will love this," he muttered to himself happily and snapped a photo.

"Roxas!" Axel's voice boomed from a microphone. He started to get worried. "Don't make me drag your ass back down!"

The blond ignored him and looked at the photo he just took. Frowning, he deleted it. It wasn't clear enough for his liking. He took one step closer to the edge.

"Hey! Did you hear me?! If you fall I swear I'm going to feed your guts to Pluto!"

"Axel, calm your man nipples!" Roxas called back to the redhead as he angled the phone again. "I'm almost done!"

"Shut up, you dumbass!" Axel yelled back angrily. "Just… just don't be stupid, okay?"

Roxas rolled his eyes and snapped the photo. He previewed the photo, smiling widely in satisfaction. It was perfect. He attached the photo in a message to Namine with the caption; '_Good luck, babe! I believe you can design a town as beautiful as this._' And send. "Okay, you can relax now!" He squatted down at the edge and grinned cheekily. "I'm done!"

"You better be down here in a minute or else!"

"Yeah, yeah." He dismissed his threat casually and started to stand up. As Roxas lifted a foot up to take a step, a gush of wind blew past him and he wobbled back and forth on one leg. His arms wavered in circles in the air as he fought gravity to stabilize himself.

"Roxas!" Axel's voice called out in concern. His green eyes widened at the sight of his best friend about to fall ten stories to his death.

Roxas quickly put his foot back down and regained his balance once the wind subsided. He took a deep breath and placed a hand on his chest to try and slow down his beating heart. Sweat had beaded up on his forehead as he hanged on the moment between life and death, and he used the back of his hand to wipe it off his brow. He gave Axel a sheepish smile. "All good!"

He saw the red head let out a sigh of relief before placing the microphone back to his mouth. "Holy shit! You're giving me anxiety attacks! Just get down here, will you?"

Roxas held a thumbs up as he started to make his way down again.

However, not even a second later, the wooden board underneath him started to shift. There were only a few nails that had stuck the board to the other boards, but it wasn't enough to hold anything heavy. From the weight of his body on one side of the board for too long, the nails suddenly flew out of its hinges, making the board suddenly slide down and off the building completely.

It happened all too fast for Roxas to comprehend what was happening. The next thing he knew was that he was falling in mid-air with one hand clutching his hard hat to his head and the other holding onto his phone for dear life.

* * *

The first thing Roxas saw was a light. One bright white light shining down at him. And the sound…

What the hell was that beeping?

Roxas tried to sit up to turn off whatever the hell it was but found that he couldn't. Nor that he could move any part of his body at all. It was physically impossible. He groaned as he felt that his back was oddly numb but it was the sight of the rest of his body that shocked him.

Both of his legs and arms were wrapped up in casts with his fingers and toes poking out, and his chest had several bandages around it. An intravenous line ran through his left arm to connect him to the machine standing beside him. "What… what happened?" His voice was barely audible.

Realising that he was not alone, Roxas' eyes averted to the figure slumped in the armchair at the corner of the room. His lips parted slightly as he saw the familiar long blond spikes.

"Ven?" He whispered weakly.

Matching cerulean blue eyes opened and the older boy stretched out his limbs. "Hey," Ventus smiled lazily down at his younger brother. Blond stumble was evident on his chin and sleep was under his eyes. "You're finally awake."

"Ven…" Roxas' face faltered quickly as realisation snapped him back to reality. "Ven?! What are you doing here?" He moved to Destiny Islands for college so he only saw him on special occasions. "Where's Namine? What hap-"

"Whoa, easy now." Ventus got up quickly and went to the side of the bed. He placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Relax."

Roxas took a deep breath and physically eased himself back into the bed. A frown remained on his face. "Where am I?"

"You're in the hospital, Roxas."

"Hospital?" The frown deepened. "Why?"

This time, it was Ventus' turn to frown. "You… you don't remember?"

"If I did would I even ask you?" He was beginning to get irritated and the pounding in his head wasn't helping either.

Ventus shifted the weight in his foot uncomfortably. "Maybe it's better if the doctor explains it to you."

"No – wait!" Roxas called out, almost painfully. "I don't want the doctor. I want you." He pleaded with him. "They will only feed me bullshit answers."

"C'mon, Rox – "

"Please, Ven."

At the tender tone of his voice, Ventus sighed. "Aw, shit." He really didn't want to be telling him the grim news. "It might be a bit much for you. You've been unconscious for a while."

"I don't care."

Ventus groaned and massaged his temples. "Okay, fine. Long story short, you fell when a wooden board slipped from underneath your foot when you were on top of a developed building."

Roxas nodded along. He remembered that much.

"Thank god you weren't that stupid and wore your hardhat. What were you thinking? Did you know how dumb it was to climb the site with no protective gear in the first place?" Ventus got off track as his older-brother instinct kicked in. "If you weren't already in bandages I'd knock some sense into your tiny mind!"

Roxas set his lips in a grim line. "You don't need to remind me." He gulped. "S-So, what's the damage?"

"You broke every single limb, a few cracked ribs, bruises here and there and, uh," Ventus' voice started to break. He bit his lip as he turned away from his brother. He couldn't look him in the eye when he delivered the next bit of news. "They found some damage to your spinal cord."

Roxas felt his world stop. He had only heard about spinal cord injuries in movies… and they usually depicted the worst.

No, it can't be…

Was this really happening to him?

"What…" Roxas whispered. "What does that mean?" He tried to move his fingers. Okay, good, he could still do that. Next, his toes –

Wait.

_Wait._

Shit, shit, shit!

"Ven…" Roxas' voice was deadly quiet. His heart started to speed up in fear and his breath started to become shorter. "I-I can't do it!"

"Do what?" Ventus looked at him in concern.

"My toes, Ven!" Roxas shot him a scared look. "I can't move them!"

Ventus quickly held his head in his hands when he started to hyperventilate. "Roxas! Look at me." He called out to his brother firmly. "Take a deep breath, Rox. Deep breath in… and out… and again…" Once Roxas' respiratory rate started to return to normal, he looked directly into his eyes and spoke calmly, "You okay now?"

"I-I think so," Roxas closed his eyes tightly, trying to remain calm.

"It's too early whether to know what damage has resulted from your spinal cord. The doctors can't confirm it until sometime later."

"Oh.. okay..." That didn't make him feel any better. But no news was good news, right? "What about Namine? Does she know?"

Ventus shook his head, making his long spikes swished in the air around him. "Do you want to talk to her?"

"Yeah." Roxas uttered out. He wished she was here. How badly did he wanted to be comforted by her touch or her soothing words. He _needed_ her.

Ventus nodded slowly and took out his phone. He placed it in the space between his neck and ear, making Roxas craning his neck to the side in order to hold it still.

After the third ring, she finally picked up the phone. "_Hey Ven, what's up?"_

Roxas instantly relaxed at the sound of her crystal clear voice. It was as if all his worries had washed away. "N-Namine…" He mentally cursed himself for stuttering. It made him sound like he was guilty of something he wasn't doing.

"_Roxas?"_ Namine's voice was concerned on the other end. _"Where have you been? Why do you have Ven's phone?"_

Roxas chuckled nervously. "That… is an interesting story." He diverted the topic quickly, "How did your interview go?"

"_Oh my gosh, I don't even know where to begin."_

Roxas only responded with 'yeahs' and 'uh-huh ' as he listened intently to Namine unfold the events that happened to her. He nodded while she chattered on about the questions and laughed at how the interviewer was spitting on a poor fellow candidate while speaking. Listening to her made him get distracted from his own tragedy.

"…_and they called me for a second interview next week!" _

"That's really great, Nams."

"_Really, if it wasn't for you I would never have thought I even had a chance at this_." A smile was heard in her voice. _"Thank you so much!"_

For the first time since he had woken up in hospital, he felt a genuine smile curve onto his lips. "You know I would do anything for you, right?"

"_And that's why I keep you around."_ She laughed through the phone.

"Oh..."

"_I'm only kidding, Roxy! Lighten up, will you? What happened to you?" _

"I, uh," Roxas paused and knitted his brows together. If he told her then she would be devastated. She might even give up on the interview to be with him. He frowned. He didn't want that. He wanted her to give it her all. This interview is what they had been preparing so hard for, she couldn't afford to miss it. He had to make a choice. "Ven surprised me with a spontaneous cruise trip!" He hoped his voice still had the same cheerful ring to it. It was a lie but it was for the best, right? He could tell her the truth later.

"_Whoa! Are you serious?_" Namine cried excitedly on the other end.

"Yeah! Come say hi to Nams, Ven." Roxas motioned with his head to his brother, who was sitting at the end of the bed watching him with curious eyes.

The blond gave him a confused look before taking the phone off him. "Hey, Namine."

"_Ven! Why didn't you take me on the cruise too_?!"

Ventus glared at Roxas, who only grinned sheepishly in response, "Trust me. You don't want to be here."

"_Ha ha, sorry I hope Roxas isn't being too much of a pain in the ass_."

"Don't apologize." Ventus looked down at the state of his brother and shook his head sadly. "Roxas is just an idiot."

* * *

"_Roxas, when are you coming home_?"

It had been two months since he had been hospitalized. His body had healed nicely with a few scars remaining and all that was left was for him to move his legs. Fortunately for him, he narrowly missed out on being a paraplegic. The doctors had found that his incomplete spinal cord injury had not sustained damage to a huge amount of nerve fibres and he would make a near full recovery with time. However, time was not coming by quick enough for him.

The doctors told him it was merely psychological, not physical, that was preventing him from walking. He went through a countless number of physical rehabilitation therapy sessions but Roxas still couldn't even wiggle his little toe. He knew he should be grateful that the worst didn't happen to him but at the moment he… just couldn't. Frustrated was an understatement of what he was feeling. He was angry at himself for being stupid. Angry that one dumb mistake had changed his way of life.

"_Roxas?"_

Roxas snapped out of his thoughts. He had almost forgotten that he was on the phone with Namine. "Sorry, I, uh, zoned out for a bit."

"_Yeah, sure. I'm going to get angry if I find out if you were distracted by any hot chicks on the cruise."_ She warned him in mockingly. "_I asked, when are you coming back?"_

He didn't know the answer. It could take him months, _years_, for him to learn to walk again. By this rate, he wasn't even sure if he could return to his old life again. Questions began to flood his mind as the same anxiety that hit him every day came back again.

What about his job? He got fired after that incident.

What about his friends? Only Axel came to visit him sometimes.

What about –

"_Is everything okay_?"

"Namine…" Roxas uttered her name softly. Just the sound of her voice comforted him but it was also hurting him at the same time. He wanted to tell her truth but he felt like he was in too deep to go back out. For all she knew, he was still sailing somewhere near Halloween Town. Guilt was eating him up and he knew he couldn't keep up the act any longer. If she knew, she would've came to him already. She wouldn't have started the amazing career she had right now. She was on her way through life, while he was stuck in his. She had a whole life waiting for her… but he was holding her back. Why would she still want to be with him all this time? His eyes widened at the revelation.

That's right.

Who was he to keep her from beginning her life?

He was being selfish when all he wanted to do was to keep her all to himself.

"_What is it_?" her voice was filled with worry this time.

Roxas knew what he had to do. He had to initiate it otherwise she'll never let him go. "It's just…" It hurt him too much to continue that sentence. He didn't want to let her go.

"_Roxas, talk to me."_

His eyes looked back to the window where he could see the whole town, but all he could see was his reflection. Being bound to the hospital had taken a toll on him. He had lost weight, his usually spiky hair had lost its definition and laid flat against his head. Dark purple bags drooped underneath his eyes and his mouth felt like it was permanently curved into a depressing line. His back was hunched over as he sat in the metallic wheelchair alone. He looked pathetic.

No… he _was _pathetic.

"Namine." Roxas closed his eyes tightly. "I…" He clenched his fist against the armrest of the wheelchair. How were you suppose to tell the girl you love that it's time to walk away?

"_I can call back later –" _

"No, it's okay." Roxas ran a hand through his golden matted locks. "Namine, listen to me."

"_Yeah?" _

"We need to start thinking about ourselves… and what's good for us…" Roxas said slowly. "There's so much more you can do out in the world..." He swallowed. "Without me."

Namine remained quiet. "_What are you trying to say_?" He could hear the pain tearing in her voice.

"Let's break up."

There was a moment of silence between them.

Roxas knew breaking up through the phone was such a cowardly act but it was convenient for him. He couldn't see her face when he spoke those words. The way her brows would scrunch up first, followed by her mouth parting slightly. And her eyes… those big blue eyes… he wasn't sure if he could handle seeing them in so much pain. If he did, he was sure he would give her a hug and beg for forgiveness.

The dry laugh from the other end brought him back to reality. "_You're joking, right?__"_

"I'm serious."

_"...I-I don't understand. What's going on, Roxas?" _Her voice started to get exasperated. "_What did I do wrong?"_

"It's not you, it's me." There was a billion of other excuses he could have used but he had to go with the worst. It held so much truth to it.

"_Don't you love me anymore?'_

Roxas couldn't stop the tear from escaping his eye at this point. He wanted to scream and yell that he did love her with everything that he had… but how could he? It would only hurt her even more. "I'm sick of this." He was already trapped in a web of lies. What's one more going to hurt? "I want nothing to do with you."

"_Roxas –_ "

"Don't ever come near me again, you witch." Roxas told her in the coldest tone he could muster and pressed the 'end call' button quickly. He threw the phone on the hospital bed angrily and buried his face into his hands. "I'm sorry…" he whispered softly as his shoulders shook uncontrollably. "This is for you."

* * *

_/Present.../_

"…This and that happened," Roxas skipped over the finer details casually, "and here I am today."

Kairi stared back at him with her hands over her mouth. Her eyes started to water slowly as he uncovered the ugly truth behind their relationship. Never in a million years she would have imagine that any of that would have happened to him. "Oh, Roxas – "

Roxas cut her off with a wave of his hand. She demanded truth and she got it. She didn't need to give him sympathy too. He reached over to grab a cookie from the plate and bit the end off slowly. The pain was unmistakable clear in his voice as he muttered out the final words of his miserable story, "The end."

* * *

**Author's Note:**

So, uh, that happened.

More angst than what I planned but next chapter will not be as dark, I swear!

Sorry if there's any wrong facts here... I tried to google as much as I could! :P I just want to reinforce that I am no way a doctor. That's why I didn't write one in to explain what was happening to Roxas, LOL. But I got the idea of what happened to Roxas from a soap opera show. Not sure if the details are the same but yeah... haha.

Let me know what you think! Thanks guys :)

|28-03-2016|


	16. The Day The Building Opened

**-:-:-:-:-**

**Chapter 16:** **The Day The Building Opened**

**-:-:-:-:-**

"Hey Kairi!"

"Uh, hi?" Kairi waved back slowly to the unknown woman who walked past her down the hallway.

For the past few weeks, everybody was acting strange. At the Corner Café, at the ward, when she was on a date with Riku… everywhere! Even the people she didn't know were randomly coming up to her. It wasn't like she hated it but seriously, where did all this attention come from?

"Good work on that report, Kairi!"

"Thanks..." She replied hesitantly to a passing co-worker. Strange, she had never talked to him once. Seeing the silver-haired doctor ahead of her, she sprinted up to him. "Riku!"

"What?" Riku called over his shoulder.

"Don't you get the feeling that you're being…" Kairi lowered her voice to a hush whisper. "... watched?"

Riku scoffed. "All the time."

"But this is different." Kairi insisted as she skipped besides him. She looked at the intern walking towards them, who quickly averted their eyes once she made eye contact with them. "See?"

"Maybe they know about us."

"'Us?'" She repeated incredulously.

He took her hand into his own and confirmed it with a squeeze.

'_Oh._' "Oh." Kairi blushed, aware of the increasing number of eyes looking at them.

Riku smirked at her reddening face. "Don't worry about it too much. You'll get used to it."

"But -"

"I've got to go to surgery." He gave her a quick soft peck on the cheek. "See you later."

As he left to walk into the operating theatre, it was then that she noticed the blue scrubs he wore. A sigh escaped her lips as she continued her way towards her own work place. '_Riku…_' his name ran through her thoughts mindlessly. Like Selphie told her to, she did give him a chance. Even though his methods were unorthodox, she couldn't deny the fact that he had been trying to woo her. She wasn't that heartless, anyway. Through their busy schedules, they went out again for a third time when Riku told her he wanted to continue seeing her. When she agreed, he surprised her with a kiss on the lips.

That's it.

It ended too fast for its own good. It's not like she thought the kiss was bad or anything but… wasn't she meant to feel something?

She wanted to hit herself for thinking something so incredibly unromantic but the thought kept lingering at the back of her mind. It wasn't as if she was looking for fireworks… just a bit of sparks would do. Maybe it was the fact that his kisses were always too quick and spontaneous, and by the time her mind did register it the moment was over.

Yeah… that definitely must be it.

She did like Riku, really. She found out that she could actually hold a decent conversation with him and underneath his glorious form, he was somewhat sweet and caring. Of course, she couldn't deny the obvious fact that he was a sexy beast. So why was she still questioning herself?

Kairi shook herself out of it. It wasn't the time or place to be thinking about this. She had work to do.

* * *

"Sorry I'm late."

Kairi looked up from her phone to see the brunet barista coming towards her. She put her phone away and they started to walk towards his car. "What took you so long?"

"I had to close the store by myself." Sora yawned as he stretched his arms up behind his head lazily.

"What happened to Ven?"

"He has wedding stuff to do today." He grinned as he unlocked the door and sat in the driver's seat. "Aqua wants him to be involved with the wedding planning as much as possible."

Kairi held back a laugh as she got in too. "Ooh ouch, sounds like she has him on a tight leash."

"Yeah - oh, shoot." Sora cursed suddenly. He lifted his bottom up from the car seat and felt his back pockets. "Do you mind if we stop by my place?"

Kairi frowned in concern as she saw him look around his car. "What's wrong?"

"I thought I forgot my wallet in the car but I must have left it at home."

"Oh, okay." Kairi paused. "Wait – isn't your drivers' license in there too?"

Sora gave her an innocent smile from the side. He drove past the ice-cream shop and turned onto a rural road.

Kairi looked at him with wide eyes. She was a law-abiding citizen when it came to road rules. "How can you be so relaxed when a cop could pull you over at any time?"

"Because if that happens you can have a _friendly_ chat with Officer Handsome." Sora grinned teasingly.

She rolled her eyes. "With the way you're going right now I don't think I have to."

"But I'm not a woman."

"Could've fooled me." Kairi smirked. "Your hair is long enough to be one."

"At least I have volume."

"Hey! So do I!"

"Could've fooled me." Sora threw back at her with a smirk.

She slapped his arm playfully as he laughed. "You ass!" She was annoyed, but still, at that moment, she couldn't help but laugh with him. "I think you might be right, though." She pinched a bit of her hair between her fingers and inspected it promptly. "Even Riku said the same thing."

Sora just scoffed at the mention of the doctor. _'Pft, Riku.' _

Kairi held her hand up to hit him again but felt herself relaxing as their surroundings began to change. Paopu trees, palm trees, sandy sidewalks… with a smile, she realised that it was her first time going to his house. They usually went somewhere downtown at most. "Are we at the beach?"

"Yup."

Sora soon pulled up to his drive way and got out of the car. Kairi trailed after him hurriedly as he opened the door leading to his beach house. The first thing she noticed was the window that went from the floor to the ceiling. "Oh my god…" she said in awe as she started walking towards it. Her hands pressed against the glass, gazing at the pure white sand and clear water down below. "This is amazing!" She took her time to admire the view. "Do you like the beach, Sora?"

"I guess so," Sora shrugged. "I lived around beaches my whole life so this isn't anything new."

"Ah."

"Do you?"

"I love the beach!" Kairi squealed. They didn't have many beaches in Radiant Garden so she couldn't help it but be overly excited. "It's beautiful! Look! _Look,_ Sora! You can see the sun set from up here!"

Sora just stared at her before chuckling to himself.

God, she was so strange.

And really cute.

Huh? Sora blinked twice. Where did that come from? The thought was so quick and natural but it was completely platonic... right? He shook his head repeatedly at himself. It's been a long day. He probably needed a drink to think clearly. That's it.

After some time, Kairi managed to peel herself away from the window to look at her surroundings. She instantly spotted the black leathered L- shaped lounge near her. It was in position to face the huge flat screen television perfectly. Resisting the urge to curl herself on it, she surveyed the rest of the room.

Unexpectedly, he had a more neutral colour scheme. The walls were a cream-ish white while his floors were lined with wooden boards. There was a recliner and a low coffee table in the middle. Shelves of several CDs and DVDs were against the wall. She recognised some of the titles like 'Pirates of the Caribbean' and other Disney titles among them. In the corner next to the recliner, there was a lamp. She could just imagine sitting there for hours trapped inside a book.

Kairi heard a noise and continued to venture into his house. She passed through the door leading to the hallway, where a giant mirror was hanging on the wall. '_Is that what I looked like all day?'_ she thought as she frowned at her reflection.

"Kairi?"

"Yeah?" She stopped fixing her hair and followed his voice into the kitchen, running her hand over the black marble countertop. "Thanks," Kairi smiled at him as she accepted the glass of water, her eyes taking in the stainless silver appliances and wooden cabinets. If she thought her kitchen was nice and homely, his was on a whole different level. It was absolutely gorgeous!

"…What?" Sora tilted his head when he saw the funny look she was giving him.

"It's just… I always thought you lived in a wooden shack." She admitted.

Sora merely raised a brow at her.

"Wait, wait – hear me out!" Kairi put her hands up defensively. "I mean, no offence but with your old phone and run down car… you know…" She trailed off, hoping he would catch on before he thought she was just being plain rude.

Thankfully, he did. "I like space."

"Oh."

"And this is my family's beach house."

'_There we go.'_ She rolled her eyes. An idea formed in her head. "Hey, since we're already here let's stay in!" She smiled eagerly. "Maybe we can eat on the beach too!" She couldn't help but add in. It didn't hurt to try, right? "I'll cook!"

"Uh – "

"I can!"

"I didn't say you couldn't." He quickly replied as he took their empty glassed to the sink. "But I don't think I can handle Nutella crepes for dinner."

"I can cook other things, you know?" Kairi rolled her eyes playfully and pushed herself off the counter. She went straight to his fridge. _'Onion, mince meat, carrots, milk, etcetera…'_ She walked over to his cupboards curiously and opened it. A gasp flew out of her mouth as her eyes widened. "Sora! What – what is this?!"

Sora stood up in concern. "What?"

"You have – " Kairi took a step back so he could see. " – so many cups of noodles!" The whole cupboard was pretty much dedicated solely to cup noodles. There were various flavours filled from the bottom to the top. She hadn't seen this many cup noodles since her college days. "I know your eating habits sucked, but wow…"

"They only take two minutes to cook." He defended.

Kairi was still in shock. "But they - nevermind." She closed the cupboard door promptly. He wasn't going to listen to her logic, anyway.

"Don't forget we still have to pick up Namine." Sora suddenly remembered. The blonde had invited them a few weeks ago to some event later tonight and Kairi insisted on him coming so she wouldn't be alone. Of course, he reluctantly accepted. Or was it that Kairi accepted it for him? He wasn't entirely sure. "Do we have enough time to get you home to get ready?"

"I've got everything I need right here."

He noticed her bag sitting by the wall. It was fuller than usual. "Then what about Namine?"

"Oh, don't worry." There was a glint in her eye. "I've got it covered." She took out her phone and groaned. "Crap, I forgot to charge my phone."

"Use mine." Sora handed her his phone. When she started to laugh, he peered over her shoulder to see what – no, _who _she was texting. He frowned as her smile widened mischievously. "Whoa, wait – did you plan this?"

She bit the inside of her cheek to keep herself from laughing out loud. "Maybe."

"Are you sure that's smart?"

Honestly, she wasn't. But it also didn't feel right to her to not to do anything at all. It might put a strain into their already fragile relationship but – "a little push might help," Kairi replied with a hopeful smile. She opened the fridge up again and took out several ingredients. "So," changing the subject, her smile was replaced with a devious smirk as she asked, "How do you like your meatballs?"

* * *

Namine checked her phone for the umpteenth time.

Thirty minutes.

She had been waiting for Sora and Kairi for thirty minutes. She tried to call her housemate but it went automatically to her voicemail. Assuming that her phone was dead, she looked for the barista's number but realised they didn't have each other's number. Damn it. She didn't know if they were still going all together or not.

A knock on the door was heard a moment later.

"Kairi Hart!" Namine huffed angrily as she opened the door. "You are so dead – " She stopped as she saw the person who was at her door. It wasn't the redhead. "Oh, uh... hi?"

"Hey." Roxas uttered back, eyeing her sparkly silver dress. "Where's Kairi?"

"I'm not sure." Namine frowned, coming out of her surprise state quickly. "Sora and Kairi was supposed to pick me up but," her eyes averted to the clock on the wall, "they're really late. What are you doing here?"

"Wait, but Kairi messaged me from Sora's phone asking for a favour and – " He inhaled sharply as realization dawned on him. " – she said I'll know what it is when I got here." He didn't realise that Kairi was talking about Namine. Damn it! Why did he ever trust her? He knew it was too suspicious when Kairi sent him a text out of nowhere!

Namine nodded slowly, still confused about the situation. Panic stirred up inside her when she realized, yet again, that she was going to be late. She turned around and rushed back inside her apartment.

Roxas stood at the doorway. "Do you need a lift?"

"No thanks! I'll take public transport!" She called back from her bedroom. She returned a moment trying to slip on her black pumps while she swiped a black clutch from the back of the kitchen chair with her other hand.

"You'll trip on the way to the bus stop."

"I'm better in heels now, you know!"

Roxas chuckled as he watched her struggling to slip the other heel on. "C'mon, I'll take you. By the time you reach the bus stop we'll already be wherever you need to go."

Namine paused to consider her options. True, she didn't even know what time the bus would come and hailing a cab in her area would take forever. She couldn't afford to be late. "Okay, fine." She gave in and followed him out.

Silence overcame the two as the only noise heard was her heels clicking on the ground as she trailed after him.

"Nice car," Namine remarked once she strapped herself in the passenger seat. She got out her phone to see if she had any messages from her housemate but found that there was none. Sighing, she put it back in her clutch. Her evening had been so stressful. She didn't eat dinner because she wanted to wait for Kairi, but that didn't happen obviously. Just as she thought that, she noticed the colourful bag sitting in Roxas' cup holder. She had forgotten that he usually kept some form of snack in his car.

Roxas noticed her gaze. "You can have some if you want."

"Oh, no, that's okay."

"Take one."

Namine looked at the lolly bag extended towards her. She remembered the last time she tried to reject his offer. "If you insist." She smiled slightly, popping the sugary treat into her mouth. The rest of the car ride was spent with them passing the bag to each other and her pointing out the directions to the event.

Soon enough, Roxas parked at the building and they both got out. His mouth formed a small 'o' as he gazed upon the tall metallic building. "Whoa," he said in awe. There was at least fifty floors with each level spiraling around each other until the top. Each window panel was clear, blending into the night sky nicely. It looked very modern and chic.

"You like?" Namine joined him at his side.

"Yeah, it's pretty cool," he whistled lowly.

"Thanks."

He widened his eyes at her. "Don't tell me – "

Namine only beamed back at him, confirming his unfinished question. "Tonight's the grand opening." She took her phone out to check the time again. "Oh no! I'm going to miss my speech!"

"Then let's go." Roxas announced. Without thinking twice about it, he grabbed her hand and pulled her to one direction.

She blushed at the sudden action but let him lead her inside the building as fast as she could in her heels. The security guards nodded at her and opened the door for her, while eyeing Roxas down suspiciously. After getting off at the top floor, Namine looked around the bright ballroom and let out a deep breath, relief that nothing had happened yet. She caught the attention of her co-workers in the middle of the ballroom as she let go of his much bigger hand. Immediately, her senses registered the loss. She looked back at him but he was oblivious to it all, busy looking around the scenery in awe.

"Oh, uh," Namine stopped, realising that Roxas was still following her. On one hand, she couldn't just ditch him but she had no other choice. "I need to get ready so just mingle around. Sora and Kairi should be coming soon anyway." She gave him an apologetic smile. "I'll meet you later, okay?"

Roxas nodded and watched her get swept away by a group of people. Several high class men and women clad in evening wear walked past him, making him suddenly aware that he was extremely under dress in his casual white tee and jeans. There were a few recognizable celebrities floating around, no doubt the paparazzi would be buzzing around somewhere, too. And... was that the mayor? A bouquet of flowers another man was holding piqued his attention instantly. Roxas smiled slowly as an idea came to his head and walked back towards the lift.

* * *

"Congratulations, Miss. Snow!"

"You did an excellent job!"

"I'd like to give a toast to Miss. Snow, the best architect in the world!"

Namine smiled widely as she was surrounded by her employer and co-workers. "Stop it, I'm not." She blushed.

"No, seriously!" Her boss insisted and looked around the circle of eager faces. "Let me tell you why!"

She listened prominently at his impromptu speech, laughing at the times he slurred the words. Yup, he was definitely drunk. At the end, the circle of raised their champagne glasses high in the air and clinked with each other before taking a leisurely sip. It was a long project and no doubt was she really going to miss working with these people.

Namine couldn't help but to wonder if her friends were even going to show up. The main speeches were over and everyone was chattering among each other as the waiters served the food and beverages. She sighed in relief when she finally spotted brunet spikes coming through the door. Heads turned towards him as women whispered to each other in exciting tones. She couldn't deny that he looked charming in his black suit and tie, and was further pleased to see that Kairi was gathering a few admiring glances as well. Her head looked around the room as she tried to locate her friend.

Sora met Namine's eyes from across the room. "She's over there!" He pointed, helping Kairi out. Even in her heels, she still wasn't tall enough.

Namine excused herself from the small circle she was immersed in and came towards them. Only then did she give Kairi a full glance over. She was wearing a slim-fitting dark blue dress that ended above her knees with lacy embroidery. She couldn't help but grin widely as she wrapped her arms around her housemate. "You guys look hot!"

Kairi laughed. "Not as hot as you."

"Congratulations, Nams." Sora smiled and gave her a hug. "Building looks amazing."

"Thanks, Sora." Her smile faded as she scowled up at the two. "Why were you guys so late? You missed out on everything!"

They shared a knowing look. "Sorry," Sora grinned sheepishly and motioned to Kairi. "The security guard thought she was a minor."

Kairi gaped up at him. "I did not get carded!" She hit his arm playfully.

"Alright, alright." Namine broke it up when the waiter came around with the champagne glasses again. She looked around. "Where's Riku?"

"Working," she shrugged casually. She did invite him but he had already been booked for a back-to-back surgery. It was inevitable.

"Ah, well – "

"Namine Snow!" A reporter called out from the other side of the room. They struggled to get through the sea of people in between them.

Namine froze at the sight of their camera. "Oh no."

Kairi looked at her confusedly, but when her name was called out again she caught on. "Don't worry, we got you."

"We do?" Sora looked at her questioningly.

Namine nodded and walked away without giving a glance back, while Kairi tugged Sora towards the reporters.

Kairi stepped in front of the reporters, blocking their pathway. "Oh my god, is that Big Foot?!" She pointed dramatically in the other direction.

Silence took over as the reporters gave her a funny look. They obviously didn't buy her story. Sora felt his lips twitch up as she tried to stop them from leaving but failed when she stumbled over her own feet. Apparently Kairi was as bad as lying as she was in heels.

Damn it, she was so awkward.

And still freaking cute.

* * *

Roxas was lost.

He didn't know where anybody was. Sora had finally texted him to announce that he and Kairi had arrived but after that, there had been no other form of communication. He looked down at his phone and cursed. "Crap, no signal." He waved his phone up high in hope, but it proved to be futile.

He stood a few meters away from the door, squinting through the crowd trying to find someone that was remotely familiar. A few minutes later, Namine appeared.

A wide smile spread on his face as he reached behind him, his fingers lightly touching the petals of the sunflower in his back pocket. "Hey, I forgot to say congratulations – "

"Come with me!" Namine grabbed his wrist as she dragged him out the door.

"What?"

"Shh!" She held a finger to his lips.

He had no choice but to oblige as he followed her down the hall away from the ballroom.

A chorus of endless chatter was heard behind them. He glanced back behind them and saw a man with a camera and a woman at the door, obviously looking for someone. Namine was quick to react and ushered him into the next room instantly.

"Aren't you a bit too old to still be playing hide-and-seek?" Roxas grinned as he stood in front of her.

"Oh, shush." Namine shot him a glare. "I hate interviews." she whispered, leaning against the wall that was behind the door.

"I see – "

They both froze as the voices were heard again. Namine had hoped that they would have lost them but unfortunately, luck was against them. The door opened slowly, making Roxas roll forward, trapping her between him and the wall. They looked at each other with wide eyes, trying not to make the smallest sound.

"I swear I saw her come in here," the reporter was heard saying as the lights turned on. If he had opened the door any wider, he would have hit Roxas on the back.

"You probably saw wrong." Another voice stated.

"Yeah, maybe." The first voice agreed dejectedly, and the lights flicked off before they stepped out again. "This happens every time..."

When the voices subsided outside, Namine released a small laugh. "Yes! We did it!"

Roxas looked at her strangely. "I take it you do this often?"

"All the time."

"You're so weird."

She smiled widely up at him but her laughter soon faltered as she realised the position they were in. They hadn't moved move since the reporters left, and Roxas' body was still leaning against her. His left hand was pressed against the wall near her face while his legs stood between her own. He pushed back a stray hair from her face to behind her ear, brushing his knuckles against her cheek lightly. Namine found herself lost in his gaze when she saw him leaning down towards her. As soon as she felt his breath on her lips, she blinked back to reality.

At the feel of her hand on his chest, Roxas stopped. He took a step back when he saw her staring up at him blankly. "Namine – "

"I've got to go," she cut him off and pushed him off of her.

Roxas frowned. He wasn't going to let her escape again. "We need to talk – "

She snatched her hand away before he could grab it. "No, we don't."

"Stop running away."

"Then stop trying to come after me!"

"I can't!" The hardness in his voice was unmistakable. "Why do you that, Namine? It's so damn confusing!"

Namine inhaled sharply. She was confusing him? It was the other way around! "Excuse me?"

"One moment you're completely fine and then suddenly you act like I'm a piece of trash!"

"You're such a hypocrite!" Namine was starting to get pissed. "You're the one who did it first so you tell me!" Her voice was dangerously loud and she knew they could be caught by the reporters any minute, but she didn't care. Once he got the ball rolling, she wasn't exactly going to let it go. "Why, Roxas?!"

He clenched his fist. "That's because I – " He turned around and hit his fist against the door, letting out a deep breath. "– Just forget it."

"Fine!" She threw her hands up in mock defense. "Be that way!" She reached past him to wrap her hand around the door knob. Screw him! If he wasn't going to tell her anything, she didn't need to stay there anymore. She was tired of going nowhere. She was tired of not getting any answers.

She was tired of waiting for him.

"I'm sorry." He whispered quietly, stopping her effectively. "It's because… when we broke up…"

Namine stood still as her anger started to subside. She wanted to run so she wouldn't have to deal with this… the pain… the confrontation… but this conversation was long overdue. She knew it but that didn't mean that she wanted it to happen.

No… She _needed_ it to happen. She needed this.

"What happened was..." Roxas ran a hand through his golden locks in frustration, "Damn it, I-I can't even begin to tell you what really happened..."

Namine's eyes softened sadly as she heard his voice starting to break. "Roxas," She turned around to look him dead in the eye. "I know why you did it."

Roxas looked at her incredulously. She knew? "What – "

"Ven came to our apartment after you woke up."

Shit.

She _knew_.

"He told me about your accident, but I never understood why you kept up the lie for so long." Her voice tensed suddenly. "I thought you needed time to accept it yourself so I let you be."

"Namine – "

"I gave you the space you wanted… time… a chance… but months passed and you kept lying to me. A cruise?" She laughed dryly. "Really?"

"I - "

"Then suddenly you told me that we had to break up." Namine pulled on her dress nervously. "I tried to reach out to you after that but you kept avoiding me. All those phone calls, letters… everything!"

"I was looking out for you – "

"You didn't even get to hear me out!" Years of bottled up anger started to spill out. "You knew I wanted to talk to you but you refused to listen to me!"

"No, I – "

"I would have been by your side!"

"Exactly!" Roxas cried out exasperatedly, breathing heavily. His eyes were displaying the ache he felt inside as he stared her down. "How could I let you throw your whole life away for someone like me? For someone who couldn't put on his pants properly? For someone who couldn't provide an income? For someone who couldn't even walk!" He shut his eyes tightly. "You had a life waiting for you while I was stuck in mine. A career… a family …"

Namine looked away as she felt her fist starting to ball up.

"Please understand, Namine." He pleaded softly. "It was best that I didn't involve you..."

"So what!"

Roxas was taken aback from her sudden outburst. He felt his heart was being ripped out straight from his chest when he saw the crystal size tears streaming down her pretty face.

"Look at you now! I'm really glad you overcame your fear yourself but why couldn't I do anything for you?!" Namine exclaimed, her eyes reflected the frustration inside of her. "Whatever the consequences were, I didn't mind staying with you!"

Roxas was speechless as he could only stare back at her broken form. He was truly hurt at what he did, but what he didn't realise at that time was that he had hurt her so much more. Realization brought him back to reality now that Roxas was seeing things her way. He had convinced himself that he had a strong justification that he left her for the better. True, her career did prosper, but inside she was teared apart. He thought he was doing the right thing.

Apparently not.

"Was I not good enough?" Namine shook her head at herself as she mellowed down. She was letting out everything she had held on over the past years. All her doubts, questions, frustrations... everything. It was time she let it go. "Didn't you trust us?"

"I did - "

"No, you didn't." She cut him off quickly. "You decided everything yourself and refused to let me in." She wiped her face with the back of her hand. "I didn't mean to act this way towards you but it just hurts so much, Roxas..."

He felt so weak and pathetic as he watched her cry. He wanted to do something - _anything_ \- to make it right for her... but he was the one that caused this.

"I want to be okay, but I'm not..." Her brows furrowed together as she clutched the side of her head painfully, her fingers combing through her now messy locks. "I tried so hard to move on, but... no matter where I go or what I do, I... can't. And every time we're close... I have to get away from you because... I get reminded of the love... and all the lies from back then." Fresh tears streamed down her face as she looked straight at him, "And I don't want to be hurt again."

Roxas felt the air getting knocked out of his lungs as he remained quiet. He felt himself slid down to the ground slowly, letting her walk past him and leave the room without another word.

* * *

**Author's note:**

Soooo, Sora's finally realising something! Hurrah! And namixas finally got their confrontation! Woop! I hope everyone isn't sick of their fighting yet, LOL. Anyway, there's about 10 or so chapters left, including the epilogue. How exciting!

'**Same Old Love**' by **Selena Gomez **was the inspiration for this chapter... well, sort of. It's just really catchy! :P

Thanks for reading guys! And to the guest review last chapter - thank you so much, glad the elephant joke made you laugh haha! :D

|19-04-2016|


	17. The Day She Had A Pot Of Green Tea

**-:-:-:-:-**

**Chapter 17: The Day She Had A Pot Of Green Tea**

**-:-:-:-:-**

'_She knew…'_ Roxas remembered painfully. He sat on top of the rooftop of the café as he stared out to the scenery below him. The outside area that Ventus wanted was almost complete, the only thing left was to paint the rest of the pillars. But he didn't have the energy to do so as his thoughts kept drifting back to a certain blonde. He may not have chosen the best option, but what could he do? He was young and when the situation got too much for him, he chose the easy way out.

What he had failed to realize was that… she chose him.

She knew about his condition and what the consequences were, yet… she still chose him.

"You look like shit."

Roxas looked down and a spiky redhead figure holding a paper cup to him. A smile threatened to tug up on his lips but he held it down. Only one person would speak to him that brutally honest. "Screw you, Axel," he rolled his eyes, but inside he was secretly excited to see his best friend. How long has it been since he last saw him? "Why the hell are you here?"

Axel smirked as he climbed the ladder with one hand and sat next to him. "Ven needed another builder. Said something about you being too slow."

He looked down and saw his own trustee tool belt around his waist. "I was finishing up fine."

"Whatever." Axel shivered a bit as he rubbed his hands together. "Fuck, it's freezing. Thought Destiny Islands was a tropical world for a reason."

"It's the wet season now." Roxas stated.

"How are you not cold?"

Roxas looked at the warm woolly black coat Axel was wearing then back at his own white tank top. He didn't even feel the coolness. "Dunno." He shrugged casually. "I'm an idiot, huh?"

Axel's green eyes pierced down in concerned. "You okay, man?"

He wasn't, but he also wasn't going to tell him that. "Just haven't been sleeping." It was true, his mind had been dwelling on his own sorrows that it kept him up at night.

"Heh, looks like it. No wonder Ven told me to give you this."

Roxas smiled slightly at the gesture and took the coffee from his hands. "Thanks." He took a sip. As much as he wanted to be angry at his brother for telling Namine about his accident, he couldn't. Just like now, he was merely looking out for him. "When did you get here?"

"A few days ago. I was going to come closer to Ven's wedding, but," the older boy swung an arm around his neck into a choke hold. "How could I ignore my little Roxy when he's so depressed?" He rubbed the back of his golden spikes with his knuckles. "Poor wittle baby," he cooed with false cuteness.

"I'm not depressed!" Roxas scoffed as he pried his arm off of him. "And I'm not yours!"

Axel chuckled. "Of course you are, Roxy." He pinched his cheek. "Tell me, who else owns your ass?"

"Na – " He stopped when he remembered their last encounter. "Never mind."

Axel stopped his teasing as his voice lowered. "Look at this." He took out a newspaper from underneath his jacket, showing him the front page. There was a photo of all those who worked on the new building, including Namine. "Finally found her, huh?"

"It's not like that!" Roxas blushed heatedly. "I didn't even know she was here when I came here."

"Yeah, okay." Axel rolled his eyes, putting the newspaper aside. "Did you guys make up?"

"No," Roxas sulked. "Well, not really. I don't know." He wrapped his hands around his knees. "We simply didn't come to an agreement."

"Ah, so it was about a lack of understanding." Axel scratched his chin, a mischievous glint shining in his eyes. "That's a typical cause of break-ups."

Roxas knew he said that on purpose but it still struck a nerve. "Sh-Shut up!" He frowned as he started to sweat angrily. "This is none of your business. What do you know?"

"What I know is that you made Namine suffer for a damn long time," Roxas felt like he was getting stab with every moral point that Axel was making. "You found out she still wanted to be with you despite all the shit you pulled." _Stab_. "She's still hurting." _Double s__tab_. "And now you're just wallowing in your own self-pity." _Final knock out._

"Sounds… about right…" Roxas huffed out, recovering from the blows that lowered his self-morals. His eyes softened as he gazed upon the sunflowers that he planted in the flower bed. "How am I supposed to fix this? Hell, I don't even deserve to see her…" Roxas trailed on. "I hurt her the most out of everyone. She should just forget about me." His fist clenched hard by his side. "But even so, I…" A flash of her smiling face appeared in his mind suddenly. '_I want her…'_

The wind whistled past them, blowing the leaves in the trees to one side. Their legs dangled from the roof effortlessly as silence passed between them. The café below was bustling with life and noise, yet above them was the exact opposite.

"Sorry, Axel." Roxas turned his face away from him and laughed. "I'm rambling about something boring. Just ignore me."

"Roxas…" Axel peered down at the younger male sadly.

"You know, once I saw her again, I… I couldn't stop thinking about her." Roxas spoke with a sad smile. "But being together with her again is impossible. Every time we're about to make up, we fight, and I don't want to hurt her again." He sighed heavily. "It's just going around in a stupid vicious circle. Maybe it's better if I end the whole thing altogether..."

Axel gave him a look. "You're right."

"Huh?"

"It _is_ better to end it soon." A wicked came across his face. "So do it."

Roxas only frowned in confusion.

"You're at your limit too, right? No one's going to get angry at you because it's not a bad thing. It's not a sin, nor is it hurting her. You're the only one who thinks that." Axel's voice was soft, almost tender. His eyes lingered onto the blond's a moment more before his signature smirk re-appeared a moment later. "So, get your head out of your ass," he pulled a cigarette from his pocket and flicked the lighter on, "And tell her the bloody truth for once."

Roxas was quiet for a moment, contemplating his words. His lips twitched upwards when he finally decided what to do. "I still think this is none of your business, Axel."

Axel only smiled back as he dragged out his cigarette.

* * *

"More to the left! _Left, _Hope!" Sora cried out, standing ten feet away from the boy, who was busy adjusting the picture frame on the wall.

"Okay, okay! I know my left from right, geez," Hope retorted back, equally as frustrated.

Sora ignored him as he tilted his head to the side. His thumb was pointed upwards before he turned his fist to the side. "A little bit more to the left."

The young silver-haired boy rolled his eyes. He rotated the painting slightly and looked back at the barista. "What about now?"

"Yeah, it's good." Sora grinned cheerfully at the now straight frame.

"I'm going, Sora." Ventus came from the kitchen, frantically trying to put his coat on. "Are you sure you'll be okay?"

"Yeah, it's fine." Sora waved him off casually. "Plus," he placed an arm around the younger boy, "Hope will help me out, won't you?"

"Uh, o-of course… _sir_…" The boy struggled to speak out.

"What did you call me?!"

The way the barista tightened his hold on the boy only made the lines on Ventus's forehead deepened. "Maybe I should tell Aqua I can't make it. "

"_Ven_." Sora stressed, finally releasing the poor boy. "If you don't show up Aqua will kill you and then she'll come back to slaughter me!" He paled dramatically. "I'm too young to die!"

The blond chuckled as he saw his point. It was a very likely scenario. "Okay, fine. But run through me what you have to do again at the end of the day."

Sora gave him a look. "Count the drawer, count the safe, blah blah blah." When Ventus glared at him at his mocking, he gulped and continued. "Clean the coffee machine. Turn everything off. Make sure everything else is cleaned and stocked up. Put the chairs up on the tables. Lock everything…" A grin appeared on his face as the doubt was still reflected in Ventus's eyes. "Don't you trust me?"

Ventus could only blink back at him. The kid – no, the _man _in front of him was no longer the same person who over frothed the milk for a solid week over half a year ago. When did he start to change? He couldn't pinpoint an exact moment when but he trusted him. He always had. As he opened his mouth to answer, a melody chimed from his pocket and he panicked. "Shit! Aqua's already there! Don't hesitate to call me if you have a problem!" Ventus called back one last time before leaving the store.

The two boys looked at each other before grinning. Without Ventus breathing down their necks every second, it was going to be a good day.

As soon as the bell rang from above the door, Sora instantly shot his head back from behind the register to look at the new customer. A flash of red made his lips twitch upwards on instinct. "Kairi – " he stopped when he saw her hand attached to something – more like _someone_ – behind her_._ A stern frown plastered on his face as he made eye contact with her companion. "And Riku."

"Sora!" Kairi beamed excitedly up at him, oblivious to the intense stare he was giving Riku. "We're here for lunch."

"I see." Sora nodded, breaking contact with the doctor to give her a cheerful grin. "Let me guess. A mint chocolate chip frappuccino and a – "

"Pot of green tea."

Sora shot the doctor a dirty look. "Kairi can speak for herself."

Before Riku could answer again, Kairi cut in quickly. "It's okay, Sora." She gave him a small smile. Her perfectly manicured hand squeezed his arm gently in an attempt to reassure him. "I told Riku that I wanted to try it."

The brunet stared at her for a long time, trying to figure out if she was holding anything back. When he saw that she was actually sincere, he let out a defeated breath. Kairi and tea? It was going to be too bitter for her. "O-kay." He drawled out. Whatever. By being with Riku he should've known that her choices were already questionable. "Anything else?"

A red brow quirked up as she heard the hostility in his voice but chose to ignore it. "A few sandwiches as well, thanks." She handed him the correct change and moved to the side promptly so he could serve the next customer.

Sora made Hope take over him at the register so he could make the drinks. He didn't know what came over him. It wasn't as if he hated Riku, he was fine with him when they worked together that one time. But ever since he found out that he was going out with Kairi…

His face hardened when he heard the laugh escape from her lips. He saw the crinkles at the edge of her eyes, the same ones that only happened when she was _really_ laughing. _'Riku can't be that funny,_' Sora thought darkly to himself as she doubled over slightly.

"Uh, sir." Hope tapped him on the shoulder, jolting him back to reality.

Sora looked at the plate of sandwiches cut up in perfect triangles in front of him and took it from him. "Thanks, Hope." He gave the younger boy a smile before placing the food and beverages in front of the couple on the counter. "Here you go, guys!"

"Thanks, Sora." Kairi smiled and gathered the food in her arms.

Riku reached over and grabbed the items from her. "Here, let me."

"I can do it, Riku."

"You're going to drop it."

"No, I won't!"

Sora chuckled as he heard her stubbornness. He knew she wasn't one to back down from an argument. That's why it came off as a surprised to him when he watched her back down and let him hold everything.

Huh? Is that the real Kairi? It was as if she was... _nice?_

He looked over to the couple again – mainly on her this time. He wanted to see what was different about her but he noticed something else instead. Sora had no idea how he didn't see it before, but Kairi was beautiful. She was attractive in her own way without even trying to. Her hair had that cute messy look to it as it started to fall apart from her ponytail, which she didn't even bother fixing. Her little button nose crinkled whenever she laugh and though it was the middle of a work day, the playful smirk she wore on her pouty pink lips had never faded away. And how could he ever forget about her exotic amethyst eyes?

Woah, woah - hold on!

What.

The.

Hell?!

Was he just checking out Kairi? His very good friend, Kairi? Moreover, his very good friend who was also very much _taken_, Kairi?!

Oh, no. Sora widened his eyes in horror. No, no, _no!_ He shouldn't be thinking about her this way! Seriously! She was off-limits. Absolutely taboo. The forbidden fruit –

"Sora?"

"Oh, shit – " He caught himself from stumbling over his own footing. That was the second time that day he was brought back to reality except that this time it was the very thing he was thinking about that caught him, and that scared the crap out of him. "Kairi, don't do that!"

Kairi raised another brow up at him. "Are you okay?"

"No, I, uh…" Crap, he couldn't lie to her but he couldn't exactly tell her the truth either. He glanced downwards to avoid eye-contact but that only made matters worse. His eyes instinctively was drawn to her white blouse. More specifically, the top button of her blouse. He couldn't help but notice that the button became undone and as she leaned over the counter, it showed off the top of her lacy red -

"Um, Sora?"

Sora blinked twice as her voice brought him back again. Damn it! He was doing it again! But that was too much. Way, _way _too much. Maybe it was the fact that he was a guy and couldn't help it, but God, he felt like a massive pervert! Embarrassment flooded his face as he saw the worried look she was giving him. "Sorry, I..." he took a deep breath to compose himself. "Anyway, what do you want? More sugar for your tea?"

From the condescending tone he used, all concern she held for him vanished instantly. "No," Kairi replied, trying to remain calm. "You forgot to give Riku a straw."

His eyes flicked to Riku, who was scrolling through his phone, his drink untouched. "Didn't realize I did that." Or did he subconsciously not give him a straw? "Here."

"Thanks," Kairi smiled, taking the straw from him.

"So, uh," Sora rubbed the back of his head awkwardly when she started to walk back. "I'll see you after work."

The smile from her face faded. "Crap. I don't think I can make it today... or next week." She mentally cursed at herself. This was the second time she would have cancelled on him, and the third was about to follow that. She felt bad about the whole ordeal. "Riku made reservations tonight and next week we're going to Twilight Town together for a conference, so..." She trailed off, hoping he would understand. "Sorry, I forgot and double booked my schedule…"

"Oh."

Kairi waited for him to say something else, but he didn't. "Um, yeah," she continued. "I'm really sorry."

"It's okay."

She bit the inside of her cheek at his clipped tone. Was he mad? Guilt was starting to eat her up when he still didn't continue to say anything. She had to make it up to him somehow. "Maybe next…" she whacked her brain for another free date but every time she did, she wondered if Riku was free, too. She hated being one of those girls who ditched their boyfriends over their friends but in her case it was different. Seeing Riku outside of work at all was a miracle and she _really _needed to spend as much time as she could with him. "I'm so sorry, Sora." She apologized in a small voice. "It's just that Riku works a lot and it's out of his control. I-I didn't mean to ditch you, I mean, I'm sorry – "

"Hey," Sora cut her off. His voice filled with warmth this time. "Ven wanted me to give you this."

Kairi looked down at the white envelope in his hands, her name written neatly on the front._ 'The wedding invitation_,' she thought in awe. "Wow, thanks." Her fingers traced the outline of the envelope slowly. "You're not angry at me?"

"Nope."

She gave him a doubtful look. "Are you sure?"

"Kairi, I'm sure," Sora confirmed. He would have appreciated more warning but he wasn't necessarily angry for her behavior. If truth be told, he was relieved. He was plagued by his new thoughts and he knew he wouldn't be able to sort them out with Kairi's presence around. "Shouldn't you hurry up and go back? You're ditching me to be with him but you're still here." A smirk appeared on his face. "If you were my girlfriend, I'd break up with you."

Kairi let out a small laugh. Though he was taunting her, she realized that he was trying to reassure her in a way that worked for them. "Oh, that's just mean." She jokingly glowered. "If you were my boyfriend, I'd shoot myself."

"I'd hand you the gun."

"You – you – " Kairi spluttered as she tried to think of another comeback. When she failed, she closed her mouth and shoved him lightly. "I can't believe you said that!" Her ears picked up the sound of her name. She looked back and saw Riku staring at her with questioning eyes. "Alright, alright. You had your fun at teasing me today."

"Not really."

"Whatever, I'm going." She gave him an angelic smile before leaving. "Don't miss me too much. I'll try to get you a sea-salt ice-cream from Twilight Town, okay?"

"Oh, it's fine. I can get one here." The smirk on his face was left unfazed. "Where I can eat it in the comfort of my own home, watching the beautiful sunset on the beach..."

Kairi groaned. He was making her jealous and it was working well. _Too _well. "That's so rude."

"Have a good trip," Sora chuckled as he leaned against the counter on his elbows, watching her return to Riku. Something struck in his chest when he saw the way her cheeks turned red at him as he pulled her closer. Before anything else could happen, Sora turned his back towards them quickly, polishing a forgotten dirty glass. He didn't know what he felt but he couldn't watch them any longer.

What was happening to him?

* * *

Namine wrapped herself in a blanket as she stared blankly at the television screen. She didn't even know what was playing but it kept her mind off of things. With no new projects coming up, she wallowed in her own despair for a good seven days. Though her housemate had tried to cheer her up, there was nothing that could stir her except for her good old friend, tequila.

"Alcohol, you really are my lube through life," she chuckled dryly, reaching over to the tall glass bottle on the coffee table.

Namine jolted when she heard a knock. For all she knew, people at the door only meant the worst news. She stayed still on the couch, concluding that the person probably got the wrong door.

"Go away…" She groaned into the cushion when the knocking was heard again. However, her wish wasn't granted when the knocks became even louder and persistent. "Okay, fine!" She placed the bottle back on the table and threw the blanket off of her. Rather clumsily, she somehow managed to march towards the door all the while muttering underneath her breath. Whoever it was, she was going to give them a piece of her mind. "Excuse me, but who the hell – "

"Namine."

She froze at the sound of his voice. "Roxas?" Her hand was lingering on the door knob for support. She couldn't believe what she was seeing.

There he was… looking down at her… soaked from head to toe from the rain.

"Heh. Sorry," Roxas rubbed the back of his wet head sheepishly. "I accidentally came over."

She gaped at his excuse. "'Accidentally'… I – you…– " She didn't even know where to begin. After the confrontation, she was pretty sure they weren't even on speaking terms! An involuntarily shiver from him didn't leave her eyes unnoticed though. "You're going to catch a cold." Her eyes softened as she tried to comprehend all the emotions that was rushing through her at the moment. "Go home, Roxas."

Roxas stuck his foot out quickly to prevent her from closing the door on him. "Namine – wait." He leaned his elbow on the doorway as he looked down at her. "You can keep trying to shut me out all you want but it won't solve anything."

"And you think this will?" Namine looked at him in disbelief. "I don't even know what to say to you right now." She took several deep breaths to calm herself down, but it didn't work. Her nerves had been on the edge every time he was near her but this time his timing and approach was more than enough to set her off. "Tell me one good reason why I shouldn't strangle you."

"Because you can't even reach my neck."

Namine's scowl only deepened and the fact that he said it almost instantly infuriated her even more. Her hand reached out on retaliation but Roxas just grabbed it easily. She also found herself being pulled out of her apartment just as easily. "What – " she stumbled at his actions, hearing the door closed behind her. Goosebumps instantly appeared on her arms as she was suddenly aware of the very cold hallway. "What do you think you're doing? Anyone could see us and I'm only wearing my bathrobe!"

"Yeah, I know. It's kind of sexy, by the way."

A red hue spread on her cheeks. "Oh, uh..." She mentally yanked herself out of her trance. This was no time to be blushing! "You're such a big flirt!" Her irritation flared up again as she snatched her hand back. "Are you trying to piss me off on purpose? How many times do I have to tell you that I don't want to be hurt again?"

Roxas smiled slightly. That might have true before. "But you don't believe that anymore."

"Yes – no, wait!" She spluttered out lamely as she ran her hand through her messy hair in frustration."What do you know – "

"Namine, please just listen to me."

His voice held a tinge of exasperation to it yet it compelled her to stop completely.

"I used to blame fate for everything," Roxas closed his eyes thoughtfully. "I hated what it did to my life. But now," his eyes re-opened, shining brightly. "I'm actually glad for it."

Namine was stunned. He... was?

"I know I hurt you." Roxas continued. "I know that no matter how many times I apologize it won't ever change what I did. I know you don't want to be anywhere near me. I know that, but," his voice was a little lower than usual and it cracked, but he was still determined, "Even if there is a hundred reasons why I should give up, I won't." He looked straight at her to convey how serious he was. "I'm not going to disappear from your side a second time."

"Why..." She heard herself whispering out loud, losing herself in his intense gaze.

"Because I realized that when you love someone so much all you want to do is be with them no matter what. And I love you, Namine." The corner of his lips slowly curved upwards. "I love you."

Her eyes widened. "H-Huh?" She uttered out breathlessly.

Roxas' voice was firm but gentle. "I love you," he repeated. "I won't get tired of saying it. I love you."

The air around her suddenly felt thick and she found it harder to breathe. When she saw how his eyes expressed every tender emotion he felt for her, she was rendered speechless. It was only words, _three simple words_, yet it made her heart beat so violently in her chest. Just a week ago, she had convinced herself that she didn't want to be hurt again. And now this?

"Damn it, Roxas." The way her tears had started to run down her face left no doubt in her mind. She could no longer make any excuses to her feelings even after her own body made it unmistakably clear for her. "You think that you can just show up to my apartment, tell me you love me and expect everything to be okay?"

Before he could say anything else, he felt a sharp blow to the center of his chest. "Sh – " he gritted his teeth to prevent himself from shouting profanity. He knew she could be strong but that was one brutal punch_._

"It doesn't work that way!" She hit him again. "It shouldn't!" And again.

Roxas wheezed at the impact, feeling her blows growing powerless with every hit. They didn't hurt anymore, but he just takes every single of them.

"But… damn it…"

Time started to slow down as they locked eyes. He was looking down and she was looking up. They were too absorbed in the moment as they didn't realize that their faces were literally just inches away from each other. Gently, he reached out to cradle the side of her face with both of his hands, tracing his thumbs over the blush that was spreading. Tilting her head to the side, he leaned down, capturing her lips in a soft and tender kiss. Her hazy eyes fluttered closed against her will as she succumbed into him, tangling her fingers through the back of his damp locks.

For the first time in forever, everything felt right. She was scared, _petrified _even. It was hard for her to open up her heart again, much less with the same person who hurt her before. But as much as she felt like running away again, she didn't move an inch.

This time she was going to stay… right with him.

The feeling of his hot breath against her lips and his strong arms around her waist was enough to send her over the edge. What started out as an innocent and sweet kiss turned intense as his hands traced down her curves to grip underneath her thighs, leaving a trail of electricity throughout her body. Instinctively, she hitched her legs around his hips. They lost themselves in the moment as their emotions and passion took over, just exactly like their relationship.

"Roxas..." Namine managed to breathe out when she felt him nibbling on her lower lip. As soon as she felt her back being pressed against the door, her eyes opened in horror. "Roxas!"

The grin on his face instantly faded at the glare she was giving him. "What?"

"You locked me out!"

Oh shit.

* * *

**Author's note:**

As much as I try to be realistic with this story, I know that some parts are not... like with the last scene, haha. Roxas has always been the impulsive type anyway, LOL ;) There's still unanswered questions and a hell lot of uncertainties that they'll face in the future, but at least for now they are heading in the right direction... I hope...

To Guest 2: Thanks for the review last chapter! I wouldn't say best haha but thank you! ;D

Thanks everyone!

|08-05-2016|


	18. The Day It Rained

**-:-:-:-:-**

**Chapter 18: The Day It Rained**

**-:-:-:-:-**

Some say that high school was the best time of their life. From the innocent and pure relationships to the last minute cram sessions, the beauty of adolescence is a very important time for a young man. Most people wish that they could go back in time to relive their glory days, but…

That wasn't the case for Sora.

He was the type of guy to kick the bucket and move on. Once he was out, he was out for good. It wasn't like his high school life was bad, in fact – wait, hold up! Scratch that thought. It was a living hell. The actual nightmare before Christmas. As horrifying as Freddy's Krueger's face. Something like that.

Sora thought he was finally done with all the drama from high school.

Apparently, he was wrong.

It was strange but something always happens when it rains. That day in the Corner Café was no exception. Despite the lack of sunshine, Sora was humming a cheerful tune when his phone in his apron pocket suddenly vibrated to indicate he had a new message. He shook out of his thoughts instantly and whipped his phone out not-so-discretely. His face was brooding as he scrolled through the content of the message. Memories of late-night studying at the library, soccer, blitzball and flashes of blue and green came flying back to him simultaneously that he had to hold onto the counter to steady himself.

"Soraaaaa!"

He didn't even bother to look up to see who the loud voice belonged to.

"Did you – "

"No."

Selphie huffed and crossed her arms against her scrubs. "I didn't even finish my question."

"Whatever you were going to ask, the answer is no."

"Geez, why are you in such a bad mood?" She held her hand in front of her to examine her nails casually. "I just wanted to know if you received my message."

"I did and the answer is still no."

Selphie scoffed. "Boo! You suck!" She leaned her hip against the counter top impatiently as she watched him tap something into the register. "Come on, Sora. Why not? Wakka worked so hard to organize this reunion and we haven't seen anyone from high school in ages!"

"I just don't want to."

"There's an open bar," she sang sweetly. "And chicken wings –"

"Chicken wings!?"

Sora looked behind Selphie... then did a double take. A light blush came across his cheeks, confirming that he had, indeed, laid eyes upon Kairi. This was the first time he had seen her for a while but he became silent. His thoughts of her still hadn't settled down even after being away from her and he didn't know what to say. 'How was Twilight Town with Riku?' was not something ideally he wanted to hear about.

Kairi leaned forward on the counter, not noticing that Sora had turned away and started to work on the coffee machine. "What's this about food? Is it free?" Hope was laced in her voice. She liked free things.

"Yeah!" Selphie beamed, excited that somebody was finally showing enthusiasm about the reunion. "We rented out Merlin's House for a couple of hours to host our high school reunion."

"Oh! You two went to the same school?"

"Unfortunately," Sora muttered under his breath.

Selphie only rolled her eyes in return. "Anyway, want to come?"

"Sure!"

"Yay! But there's a catch – " Selphie smirked towards Sora – "You can only come if Sora comes."

Sora gawked at the brunette's suggestion while Kairi tilted her head in confusion.

"Why?" She asked, looking up between the two.

"Plus one invite only." Selphie remarked, ignoring the scowl Sora was giving her. If looks could killed, Ventus would be calling the hospital's internal emergency line right now.

"Oh," Kairi managed to say. She turned towards the barista and gave him the widest smile she could muster. "What do you say, Sora? Can I be your date?"

He finally turned back to Kairi and drew in a sharp breath. The way her lower lip stuck out ever so slightly as she pleaded with her puppy dog eyes made him speechless. It took every morsel of strength he had within him to not show the girls how fast his heart was beating in that moment. She had used this method on him before and it worked. This time was no different.

"Please?"

It only took her one word to defeat him.

* * *

'_This is a bad idea.'_

That thought played in his mind like a broken record as he stared at the entrance of the bar. He should have put up a better fight and told Selphie straight up that he wasn't going to come. But Kairi was there and he felt his whole resolve crumbling. He couldn't deny her request.

'_They won't even notice me.'_

What Sora was most worried about was his teammates and _her_… the girl who made him afraid to love again. If it wasn't for _her _he would have said yes to coming to the reunion with no hesitation whatsoever. How many years has it been since he last saw them? What happens if he ran into _her_ again? What would he say? Was _she_ still with _him_? Will his teammates forgive him –

"Cider and chicken wings, here I come!" Kairi floated besides him. She was wearing a light pink floral blouse and black skinny jeans. She wasn't sure if the event was casual or formal, so she decided to wear black heels to match her outfit. She looked over to him, who was only wearing a smart dark blue polo top and black jeans too. If she thought she was nervous, he was a whole different story. "You okay?"

Sora was so focused on his teammates and _her_ that he momentarily forgotten that Kairi was standing next to him. "Everything is fine and dandy."

His tone was a bit forced and he was avoid looking him directly in the eye. "Hey," Kairi placed her hand on his shoulder. "What are you so scared of, huh? Is there an evil ex-girlfriend I should be afraid of? Or a competitive rival? Should I beat their ass to the floor?" She put her fists up to her chest in a fighting stance. "I'll do it! You know I've got your back, Sora!"

Upon seeing her loyalty, he chuckled anxiously. "Relax, it's not like that." He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "It's just I haven't seen anyone since high school ended and… we didn't end on friendly terms."

"Pft," Kairi straightened up. "Who could hold a grudge at a goof ball like you?"

"Wow, thanks."

"Ready?" She held her hand out to him.

"Can we still leave if I say no?" Sora asked. Her answer was to pull him inside. It was too late to back out now.

As soon as he took one step into the bar, Sora remembered another reason why he didn't like high school that much. His mind had a sudden flashback to his school cafeteria with all the cliques groups sitting at their respective tables. There were the goths, cheerleaders, artists, nerds, drama kids, etcetera… except the only change was that everyone was much older. Uniforms were instead replaced with suits or slacks, the girls were now wearing heels, and everyone's hair was somewhat decent.

Sora nodded and smiled politely at a few familiar faces he saw while Kairi glanced around, not looking at anyone in particularly. She wasn't here to socialise. Instead she was on a mission. Her goal was to get the food, maybe have a drink, and get more food.

"Is Selphie here?" Kairi whispered.

"I'm not sure." Sora looked around, secretly looking for another _certain _person. "I can see Wakka and his group but not her."

Before Kairi could reply, a group of jocks called his name out from a nearby table. "Hey Sora! Over here!" Obviously they were saving the one empty seat at their table for him.

Sora took a deep gulp as he saw his old team. His nerves started to get the best of him and he tugged on her arm frantically. "I knew this was a bad idea. Let's go back, Kairi."

"You can't leave. You're my ticket here!"

His only answer was to turn around and bolted towards the door.

"Okay, okay, wait." Kairi waited for him to look at her before continuing. She noted that he was especially edgy tonight but didn't realise he was this edgy when he tightened his hold on her. She didn't know what the full story was and why he didn't want to be anywhere near those group of people but she knew she had to calm him down. "No one's leaving. Just stay here with me, okay?"

Sora looked at her momentarily, face expressionless, before finally admitting, "My teammates… I'm scared that they still hate me."

"I understand." She pried his arm off of her and lightly massaged the back of his hand with her thumb in an effort to soothe him. It worked as his muscles relaxed almost instantly.

"And I'm thirsty."

Kairi smiled. "I can fix that." A passing waiter carrying a tray full of beer walked by and she grabbed a glass from him before he could leave. "Here, have a free beer." Another reason to stay here, she noted mentally. She shoved the glass in his hands and guided him towards the table of jocks. "So, let's go."

"Wait, but, Kai – "

"I told you before, didn't I? I've got your back."

The song playing lightly in the background came to a close and it shuffled onto a slightly upbeat track, motivating couples to shout out and drag their respective partners to the corner of the bar to dance. Somehow the change in the pace of music and Kairi's words triggered something in Sora – a change in perspective, a change that uplifted his beaten spirits to build his courage back up. He shook his head slightly before giving her an apologetic smile. "Thanks but sorry, Kairi. I need to face them..." His eyes shined with determination. "Alone."

Kairi could only grin as she watch him take the first step towards the table of jocks. She wasn't annoyed that he ditched her. She had anticipated it, actually. He just needed a little push in the right direction. That's all.

* * *

"Thanks!" Kairi let out appreciatively. She brought her drink down back on the bar and patted her stomach in satisfaction. The drinks were good. The fried chicken wings were the bomb. She was enjoying herself so much that she was going to drag Sora and Namine back here again. Unlike the first time she was here, due to certain events they couldn't enjoy themselves to the fullest.

Speaking of Sora, where was he? She let her eyes roam the bar until they landed on him sitting at the same table she left him at. She smiled as she saw him listening intently to whatever story his teammate was telling them. He no longer looked uncomfortable. Simultaneously the group broke into laughter – when Sora laughed, he lit up the room, his eyes and lips brightening, his nose scrunching up and his head was thrown slightly back.

"He's cute, right?"

Kairi flinched at the sudden voice. "Huh?" She turned to and saw a woman sitting next to her. She was wearing a yellow boob tube, showing off her toned abs perfectly. An orange ombre scarf was tied around her neck but that didn't stop her long bright yellow hair from standing out.

The woman gestured her head to the direction she was staring at before. "Sora Hikari, the dark and mysterious captain of the soccer team." She sighed dreamily, swinging on the bar stool. "What a hunk."

"Uh..." Kairi didn't know how to respond to that. Sora was adorable. Everyone thought that. "I guess so?"

"God, he's so hot. He's like a piece of meat," Rikku smacked her lips. "I could just eat him up! Mmhmm!"

Kairi bit the inside of her cheek to keep herself from laughing as the blonde started to make slurping noises. If she broke her composure, she knew it would provoke a much unneeded reaction from the blonde.

"I'm glad that Yuna turned him down otherwise he wouldn't look this good right now."

Kairi almost spat out her drink. "Huh?" That was new information to her. "Who's Yuna?"

"Oh, you didn't know?" Rikku flicked her hair over her shoulder casually. "There was this girl that Sora really loved in high school. She knew it, hell, the whole school knew about it, but she still let him follow her around like a lost puppy. Funny thing was, at the very end she broke his little heart and got knocked up by his best friend. Such a cruel woman, right?"

Kairi widened her eyes. So that was why he wasn't so keen on coming to his own reunion. "Okay..." She changed the subject. "Sorry, who are you again?"

"I'm Rikku." The blonde giggled girlishly. "His future wife."

For the second time that night, Kairi had to stop herself from spitting out her drink. "W-What?"

"Well, not yet. But that felt good to say." She giggled again. "After his depressing episode, I bet he needs a real woman to cheer him up." She gestured to her body proudly. "You know what I mean?"

"Um…" Kairi bit her lip. She wasn't sure what to make of the situation anymore.

"So you can forget about getting his number." And just like that, her previous bright personality did a total flip.

'_And Sora thinks I'm weird,_' Kairi thought to herself. "I'm actually – "

"Listen, you're not his type." Rikku continued, her green eyes narrowing down at her. "I know him. He doesn't need to get his heart played around by little girls."

Kairi furrowed her brows together before it clicked. "I see." She finally understood why Rikku was talking to her in the first place. She saw her staring at Sora and made it her goal to prevent her from making any advances to the boy.

"He wouldn't want to waste his time with you so why don't you go home back to mummy and daddy? We don't have any crayons here."

With a final hair flick, Rikku jumped off the bar stool and left her alone.

Kairi could only gape back at her little girl jabs. The nerve of that woman! '_Whore! Slut!' _She continued to shoot her back with hostile looks. She slurped down the rest of the drink noisily before slamming it back on the bar.

"Whoa, Kai?"

"What?" She growled back, instantly relaxing her face when she saw Sora peering down at her in worry. When did he get here so fast? Was she that out of it? Maybe she shouldn't have had that last drink. "Oh, hey Sora. What are you drinking?"

"Just beer," Sora told her, sitting down on the bar stool next to her.

She scoffed. How boring.

"There you are, Sora!" Giggle. "I was looking everywhere for you!"

Kairi looked at the seat on the other side of her and saw that Rikku had returned. She had a dazzling smile aimed at Sora but when her eyes glanced over at Kairi, she glared warningly as if to send her the message to get lost.

Whatever, Kairi decided to order a drink to block her out even more. She didn't want to deal with that woman again. Her hand shot up, signalling for the waiter. "Keith! I'd like a –"

"Water."

"Sora!" Kairi slapped his arm when he interrupted and ordered for her.

He grabbed her hands before she could hit him again. "You had enough."

"No, I haven't." She ordered the shot and the waiter came back a moment later with her drink.

"Don't say I didn't tell you so."

Kairi downed the shot in front of him just to spite him.

"Aww, cute." Rikku interrupted before she cooed at Sora. "You're taking care of a lost child."

"No." Both women were startled at his next action. "I'm taking care of my _girlfriend_, Kairi." He corrected her.

'_What the hell?'_ Kairi frowned. She peered up at Sora but he had pulled her into his lap so close to him that she couldn't take a good look at his face.

Sora lowered his lips to her ear, making it look like a seductive whisper. "Just play along and I promise I'll buy you whatever ice-cream you want next time."

Kairi's mouth dropped open. "You can't bribe me – " At the squeeze of his hand, she stopped immediately. It may have been a diversionary tactic but in that moment in time, she couldn't help but involuntary shiver as she felt his nose nuzzled against her hair.

"Wh-What's going on, Sora?" Rikku spluttered. "Who is she?"

"Isn't it obvious?"

Coming out of her initial shock, Rikku finally took a good look at Kairi. "Oh, this is too easy." She sneered. "She won't last long."

That snapped Kairi back from her Sora-induced daze. Her eyes narrowed dangerously at her.

"You're not that much better," Rikku mocked. "You're like that Selphie chick who thinks she's all that. Little Miss Know-It-All, so snobbish and stuck-up."

Sora's brows furrowed. '_Screw it.'_ He didn't care that he was at his high school reunion. He wasn't going to see the majority of the people again, especially not Rikku. "Listen here – "

"Did you hear that?" He was surprised as Kairi started laughing. This time it was his turn to give her a what-the-hell look. "Honey?" She snaked an arm around his waist and snuggled against his side. She would have let the insults go but she just had to include a jab against her friend. "Poor girl thinks she has a chance."

"Excuse me?!"

"You should have heard the funny things she said earlier." Kairi traced his bicep with her nail lightly, her eyes never leaving the blonde.

Rikku's cheeks flushed red in embarrassment.

"What was it that you said about his type? Oh yeah," Kairi threw her words back at her, "I don't think you are either. He likes them natural and of course," she shrugged innocently, "_real_."

"Y-You!" Rikku stuttered, her nostrils flaring. She stood up to her full height. "You better shut up or else, bitch!"

"Try me." Kairi was about to match her action but felt herself being pushed aside as Sora stood up in front of her instead. He wasn't going to let anyone touch her without going through him first.

He had honestly no idea how the situation had turned into this. He was going to make them leave after using Kairi as a shield, but she somehow managed to turn herself into a dagger. He had to stop the situation before it turned into a warzone.

"I wasn't done with her – " Rikku stopped instantly when Sora finally spared her a glance. It didn't even take a second for him to master a look that would shut her up. Sora, most of the time, was the happy-go-lucky type of guy, but when he was serious… really serious… he could be scary. So, imagine how Rikku felt when she received the glare Sora gave her.

Kairi mellowed down once she was away from the blonde. "I think Rikku is mad at you." She whispered, taking a glance back at the fuming girl. She couldn't help but giggle when Rikku turned red and started throwing a tantrum. And she told her that she was the little girl. Oh, the irony.

Sora's cold façade melted instantly as he laughed down at her. "Let's just get you home."

"But we haven't seen Selphie yet."

"She wanted us to come and we did." Sora's hand slid down from her shoulder to her waist. He held her as they staggered towards the table where the soccer and blitzball players had formed one big table. "Sorry guys, we need to go."

"That's cool, man." One of jocks Sora was talking to earlier stood up. "We'll see you later, okay?" He made a fist towards him.

"Yeah!"

"Join us for a game some time!"

Sots smile widened as more and more of his ex-teammates joined in. Those words meant a lot to him. "Of course!" He fist-bumped his teammate back.

* * *

"Soraaaa, did I ever tell you about the time I found Namine trapped in the bathroom?"

"Mmm." Sora hummed in agreement. His arm was wrapped around her waist as he half-carried Kairi home. At this moment of time, it was the first time that he wished he had his car. They figured that since she lived close by he would park at her place and walk to the bar together. Although she wasn't heavy, her stumbling was making it difficult to walk straight.

"She was – ow!" She held onto Sora for support to stop herself from falling. The heel on her left foot had snapped in half. With her luck, of course this had to happen to her. "Ah, it's okay." She tried to smile. "It's okay. It's totally okay. These shoes were cheap, so it's okay."

From the pace they were walking in, they still had a bit to go before they reached her apartment. "It's not okay," Sora admonished. He watched her slip her heels off one by one. After she started to walk away clumsily, he bent down to pick them up. "The ground is dirty."

"It's okay." Kairi repeated and hissed as she stepped on gravel. "Ow…"

At the sound of the third hiss, Sora couldn't take it anymore. "Here, get on." He crouched down in front of her which she didn't think twice about it as she climbed on his back. With one hand holding her heels, he stood up, before almost faltering in his steps. "K-Kai, too tight!"

"Huh?" When she realised he was talking about her grip, she loosened up. "My bad."

Sora continued to walk in silence under the night sky. It was the wet season but somehow, it didn't seem as cold as it was before. The moon was full and the stars shined brightly high above the sky. Kairi was humming a soft melody, her arms wrapped around his neck comfortably. It was a strange sight to see two perfectly grown up adults giving a piggy-back to each other.

"Can I ask you something?"

That brought Sora back from his thoughts. "What?"

"Is it true that the girl you love chose your best friend?" Kairi blurted out.

Sora involuntarily quirk a brow up. He didn't recall him ever telling Kairi about his past but the ugly truth had to come out sooner or later. He closed his eyes then nodded, agreeing mutely.

"What happened?"

"It's a dumb story."

"Can't be dumber than your face."

"Real mature," Sora jokingly glowered. "Someone like you who likes love stories won't understand."

"Then explain it to me."

Sora let out a deep breath. He looked back at her but she only stared at him with wide, cloudy eyes. She wasn't going to let it go until he told her. "That girl, she…" His forehead ceased as he struggled to find the words. "She was my first love. I drove away my friends, my team, everything – just to be rejected. But I found out later that she chose my _best friend, _who did nothing at all. I was too busy that I didn't notice she had eyes for him and he liked her back. It happened so naturally for them while I worked my ass off just to be noticed. The whole time I was in his shadow and…" For a second, Sora wondered where the honesty came from. Then again, they were always forward with their approach with each other. "Ah, forget it. Love isn't always about the good things. You spend so much time and energy just to be hurt in the end. There's no point in falling in love."

Kairi was quiet as she listened to his voice turning sour. There was so much she wanted to say and yet she had no idea where or how to begin expressing her thoughts to him. "Sora…" she said softly, eyes downcast, hands fiddling with his shirt ever so tightly.

He knew what was coming. He could hear the sympathy. "Don't say it, I know…"

"You're right."

Sora stiffened. He wasn't expecting that. "Huh?"

"Love isn't always good. You get hurt and it can bring you down sometimes but doesn't that prove that you gave it your best shot?" Kairi gave him a toothy smile. Her words were slurred but her underlying message was crystal clear. "Sure, you can think you've failed all you want but that's not the way I see it. You were simply just a guy who was in love with a girl."

Sora shifted his eyes back to his feet. His expression was at first still, but it softened at the gentleness in her voice. It was what he needed to hear after all these years. A small smile crept along his lips as his cheeks tinted the slightest hue of red.

"Hmm... or was it you were just a boy, standing in front of the girl... asking her to love - "

"Okay, Kai." He gripped underneath her thighs to hitch her up higher on his back. "You just ruined your smart moment."

"Hey! What is that supposed to mean?"

Sora kept laughing. Not because that the situation was overly hilarious, it was more that he was laughing at himself. All the rules and barriers he put up to protect himself from love came crumbling down when it came to Kairi. It was funny how easily she could change his way of thinking. In the back of his mind he knew what he was feeling the last few weeks and it terrified him more than ever. For some reason, tonight with Kairi by his side – he wasn't so scared anymore. In any case, tonight she just proved that maybe… just maybe… he was ready to open up again.

"Thanks, Kairi." Sora said softly. "I'm really glad you were here – " He stopped when he heard a soft murmur behind him. "Hey!" He tried to shake her awake but she did not stir.

Finally tired from the night's activities, he found that she had already drifted off into the land of sleep. His annoyed expression quickly faded away though when her head bobbed against his shoulder lightly, showing off her face. Unconsciously, her lips were curved upwards as saliva was still drooling down at the corner of her opened mouth.

"Heh," Sora felt his own lips curling up when she tighten her arms around him. "You're unbelievable."

* * *

**Author's note:**

Bit of a change in pace, bit of drama, bit of love... but Sora's angst issues are more settled. He just needed a bit of a kick. Hopefully he can happily love Kairi with all his heart now, LOL ;)

Thank you, **Chiri,** for the guest review! Oh my goodness, everyday?! That makes me unbelievably happy, haha! Of course, I will still continue this fic ;) No matter how long it takes, I will finish this no matter what! Hopefully by the end of the year at the very latest.

Thanks for all the support everyone!

|11-06-2016|


	19. The Day He Became Mr Almost

**-:-:-:-:-**

**Chapter 19:**** The Day He Became Mr. Almost**

**-:-:-:-:-**

Kairi stood in front of the hallway mirror. She twisted a section of her hair around the curling iron, letting it go a few moments to make her hair bounce to one side of her head perfectly. Her eyes glanced to the clock through the mirror – 7:30 a.m. A smile curved up on her lips. She still had time before she was truly late for work. Turning off the curling iron, she placed it on the table nearby where her glasses sat. Her eyes lingered on the thick black frames that had not touched the ridge of her nose since… since – she couldn't remember. It wasn't like she had super poor eyesight and when she did need some vision assistance she preferred to wear contacts. When was it that she started to change?

Shaking her head out of her thoughts, she did a once over on herself.

Awesome make up. Check. Awesome hair. Check.

Kairi changed her expression.

She almost believed that her smile was awesome too. But she felt like something was missing. She looked down to her bare arms. Oh right. She needed a jacket.

With a newly manicured hand, she reached over to the two choices she had picked out the night before. She placed the first one over herself; a black blazer that made her simple white blouse and dark blue pants – almost jeans – look 100x smarter. After turning and twirling around several times, she threw the blazer on the chair and held her other choice up to her body; a simple grey cardigan with deep front pockets. She ran her hand down the woolly material, she could imagine herself being so comfortable all day long. But the blazer…

A giggle from the front door interrupted her thoughts. Kairi looked over just in time to see her blonde housemate duck in and leaned her back against the door. She noted that Namine was wearing the very same dress she wore last night and her hair was… interesting, to put it nicely.

Namine released a deep breath, one that she probably didn't realize she was holding in, and placed her hand on her chest. Her face was flushed bright red, however, she couldn't stop the smile that appeared on her face again when she head a knock on the door.

Namine opened the door ajar and peered at the visitor skeptically through the crack. "What is it, Roxas?"

So, it was Roxas that Namine was running from. Kairi rolled her eyes and smirked. Of course.

"Nams – " Kairi heard him saying and saw the door trying to be pushed open – "You even put the chain on?"

Another giggle escaped from the blonde. "I had to use all lines of defences after that little stunt."

Kairi could only imagine Roxas looking at the blonde with the uttermost disbelief. "Unbelievable." He shook his head and chuckled. "Anyway, uh, you forgot something."

"Hm?" Namine tried to think what she had forgotten. "What is it?"

"You have to come out here to get it."

"Can't you just slip it through the crack?"

"Nope."

Namine eyed him suspiciously before closing the door and re-opening it a second later. "Fine," she stretched her palm up in front of him. "Hurry up and give it to me by all means."

"If you say so." Roxas grinned, mischief laced in his voice.

The moment she saw Roxas pulling on her outstretched hand, Kairi looked away, her cheeks tinted pink from witnessing such an intimate scene. She had to applaud the blond. He sure was smooth as hell.

It felt like an eternity had passed until she heard the door close again. She took that moment to make herself known. "Hey, Nams."

Namine felt her shoulders jerk back suddenly and cursed under her breath. She was so focused on Roxas that Kairi's voice scared her. She almost forgot that she was home. "Kai!" She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear casually. "You're not at work?"

"I'll be going soon." Kairi replied back as casual.

"Oh, okay." Namine nodded slowly and took another deep breath, trying to slow down her beating heart. Kicking off her heels by the door, she walked to the kitchen to grab herself a drink.

"So…" Kairi drawled out, her eyes never leaving the mirror. "Did you have a fun sleepover?"

She spat out the water immediately. "What! No! I-I mean, it's not like that – " her hands were motioning in the air between her and the door " – we're not like that!"

"Uh-huh."

"No, no! I-It's just – argh!" Namine threw herself on the couch in defeat. "I mean," she grabbed a nearby cushion and hugged it tightly. "Nothing happened."

Kairi chuckled. "Sure, whatever you say." She joined Namine on the couch, discarding the jackets on a chair. "You know, I like it when you're with him. You look happy."

The blush on her cheeks remained but her smile widened. She wasn't going to deny that statement. She certainly did feel happy. "We were going to keep it a secret," she nodded, feeling slightly disappointed that they were found out so soon. "Is it that obvious?"

"Um, have you seen yourself this morning?" Kairi winked at her and laughed as her friend became flustered for the umpteenth time that morning. It was just so fun to tease her. However, an unbidden thought came to the front of her mind as she thought back on their last encounter. Should she ask her about _it_? Or was it too soon? After a moment of inner conflict, she decided to bite the bullet. "Hey, uh, what happened if you didn't feel that way with Roxas again?" She couldn't help but wonder aloud.

"Nothing. He would just be my ex-boyfriend."

Kairi gaped. "Just like that?"

"Just like that."

"Even if he's really good to you?" She insisted. "What if he treats you to a lot of good places and was the perfect gentleman?"

Namine bit her lip. "No," she frowned at the thought. "I don't think it could work out again if nothing was there. I mean, it's not like I hate being nice and safe but if there's no sparks then what's the point?"

Kairi eyes widened momentarily. She wanted to spurt out something dumb like 'they're real?' but refrained herself from doing so. To be honest, she still wasn't feeling it – _anything_ – with Riku. After endless doubts, she had reasoned with herself that maybe the sparks were late. Caught up in traffic. Something. But Roxas and Namine spent years away from each other and the moment they saw each other – boom! It came back instantly. The little scene before just further proved that they existed.

So, why didn't it happen with her?

"Seriously, no excitement?" Namine was on the same page as her. "I wouldn't like that."

"I see." Kairi leaned forward unconsciously. "Weren't you afraid that he will hurt you again?" At her friend's sudden silence, she panicked. "O-Oh, sorry. Touchy subject. I didn't mean to bring it up…"

"No, it's okay." Namine shrugged. "I was scared." Her eyes closed in deep thought but her smile still remained. "But then he reminded me of how much a short tempered and impulsive bastard he is. The other day, I asked for one donut and he brings me twelve instead. He also made me hang upside down and drew a face on my chin. What the hell is that all about?"

Kairi laughed as she listened to Namine's recount of his idiocrasies. Her tales were full of knives but the loving look she held in her eyes never wavered. Suddenly, Kairi felt jealous. Like _really _jealous. It was something that she saw in nearly all the female leads in her favourite rom-coms, and here it was again, right in front of her.

"I think only an idiot would fall in love with a guy like that," Namine concluded, a small smile gracing her features. "So, if I get hurt, it will just be my fault for being stupid. You know what I mean?"

Kairi certainly did but she remained quiet this time. Her eyes went back to the black blazer and grey cardigan left on the chair. It was time to make a decision.

* * *

Sora had a mouth full of noodles as he sat cross-legged on his couch. Cold sweat poured down his forehead but he couldn't take his eyes off the screen.

_'Sally threw out the doll in the trash that day. She never truly believed that the human-like doll with the beady black eyes would do anything, but the way it stared at her as if it was following her every movement nerved her to no end. So to put her mind at rest, she threw it in the garbage outside her house. Feeling some sort of achievement, Sally went to bed with ease that night. However, it was only an hour that she woke up to the sound of her phone._

_"Hello?" She answered groggily._

_"Sally, I'm at the front door," a deep – almost masculine – disembodied voice answered quietly._

_At first, Sally thought it was a joke. A cruel prank played by one of her friends. So dismissing the call, she hung up straight away. Eventually sleep found her again and she drifted off. __A few hours later, Sally heard her phone ringing again._

_"Hello?"_

_"Sally," the same voice answered. "I'm on the second step."_

_A shudder ran through Sally's body. She heard a noise… a shuffling sound, which went on for about five minutes. Then a dragging noise and finally, a scuttling like light footsteps walking very fast. Scared, Sally threw the blankets off of her and went to the door to investigate. She turned on the lights and saw that there was no one there. Just the stairs. She reluctantly went back to bed but this time she decided to shut her bedroom door completely._

_Just as she was about to doze, Sally heard her phone ringing again._

_"Sally, I'm outside your bedroom."_

_Heart racing, sweat pouring, Sally hanged up the phone immediately. She was petrified, pinned to her bed with fear, not daring to move an inch. Her eyes glanced to her door, a shadow underneath the door flickered as if someone was actually standing outside! _

_'Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!' _

_She squeezed her eyes shut, hoping that whatever it was would go away. __Clutching the phone in her hands tightly, she curled her body underneath the blankets._ _She prayed that the phone would never ring again – '_

Sora jumped when he heard his _own _phone ring.

_Kairi Hart calling…_

He felt his heart starting to calm down once he saw her name. An anxious chuckle escaped his lips as he wiped the sweat off his brow. Of course it couldn't be the doll.

"Hello?" He trapped the phone between his ear and shoulder.

"_Hey, are you busy?"_

"Uh, not exactly." He picked up the television remote and pressed the pause button. "What's up?"

"_I, just, um..._"

A noise from outside his front door caught his attention. It sounded like the very same noise that came from the movie. Suddenly on alert, he turned off the lights. "Hold on, Kai." He hushed into the speaker. "I think somebody is about to break into my house."

A gasp was heard on the other end. "_What?_"

Only wearing a thin undershirt and track pants, Sora crept silently out of the kitchen and into the hallway. Unlike the movie, he was going to fight the doll – or whoever it was – straight on. He might be a single guy living alone but he still knew a trick or two. His house was dark but he knew his way around perfectly. Within seconds, he made it to the front window and peered through the blinds with one finger. There was no one there. Just darkness.

"_Are they gone?" _Kairi's voice brought his attention back. "_'Cause I'm outside and – "_

"You're outside?!" Sora exclaimed. He ran a hand through his spikes and went to his door. The situation got a lot more dangerous. "Just stay in your car. I'm coming." Without giving it another thought, he opened the door to the night. A movement caught his attention from his left.

"_Actually – "_

"Shh!" Sora whispered. "I think I see him." He almost snorted at the way the intruder was stumbling on his own footsteps as he made his way towards him.

"Sor _– "_

Once he saw the intruder reaching out to him with one hand, Sora deflected his hand away with his right hand. With his left hand, he shot his hand up past the intruder's neck and curved down around it so that he threw the intruder to the ground. His phone scattered a few feet away across the lawn as Sora dug his knee on the intruder's stomach and pinned his shoulder and wrist down. Sora smirked in triumph as the intruder trashed around. This was too easy.

"Kairi, I caught him!" Sora grinned into the phone. He let go of his shoulder and grabbed his collar to get a better grip of him. "I – " He froze instantly at the contact. "…The hell?"

"O-Ow…"

Sora let go of the intruder immediately. "What the hell?" He repeated. Her groan was all it took to confirm his thoughts. "Kairi?!"

Kairi laid flat on the ground, her hands clutching her middle as she coughed profusely.

"Oh shit! Kairi!" Sora got off her and extended his hand. "Are you okay?"

She shot him the biggest scowl she could at that manage. Okay? Please! She thought she almost died! "Jesus Christ, Sora…" She accepted his hand to stand. Her hands wiped down the dirt that stuck to her cardigan. "That was… freakin'… brutal…"

"Sorry, I thought… the intruder… not you… and the doll..." He spluttered lamely as he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Why didn't you say something?"

Kairi started to catch her breath, still glaring at him. "I… tried to…" she rasped out.

Sora blinked. Now that he thought about it, he actually didn't see her car anywhere in the street. It was only then when the light from his house hit her face ever that he noticed that her eyes were rimmed red. "Kairi…" She looked like she had been crying. "Where does it hurt?"

Kairi turned sober. "No, it's not that." She coughed behind her. "I'm fine." Her eyes averted down to her boots. It was an obvious lie, even she didn't sound convincing to herself. She was completely exhausted, both mentally and physically, but she didn't want to go home yet and she didn't want to be alone either. She knew the instant that she went to her other friends they would drill her down with questions. She didn't need that. At that moment, she wanted to just… be. And Sora was the only person who she could think of that would let her do just that. "Sorry…" She shuffled her weight from one foot to the other. "I was on the bus and then it went the wrong direction… and I, uh… came here…" Realizing that she was rambling, she stopped and took a deep breath to compose herself. "Can I stay here for a bit?"

"Uh, yeah of course." He picked up her forgotten phone and handed it to her. "I'm just eating dinner while watching a movie."

At the mention of food, Kairi piqued up. Her brow rose involuntarily. "You're eating dinner at – " she took her phone out – "10:00 p.m?"

"Pft. Supper, dinner, late night snack, whatever." Sora gave her a small smile. "You hungry?"

Kairi opened her mouth to reply but her stomach beat her to it. A deep blush spread on her cheeks in embarrassment. Her day had been such a rush that she realized she hadn't eaten since lunch. She nodded her head timidly.

"Come in." He laid a gentle hand on her back to guide her inside. "It's only cup noodles but it'll be the best cup noodles you'll ever eat!"

She smiled at him in appreciation. "Thanks."

Kairi glanced around his kitchen. The last time she was here was the day he forgot his wallet and they ended cooking together. Her lips curved up to the side slightly. That was a fun day. She took a seat at the counter as she watched him switch the kettle on and peer into the cupboard of his precious collection.

"Hmm… what flavour do you want? There's chicken, beef… " Sora trailed off, looking at her.

"Shrimp."

Sora scrunched his face up. "That's a terrible choice."

Kairi froze suddenly. "Oh." She frowned. "Am I terrible?"

"Sometimes."

Kairi turned to him sharply.

"I mean, it depends," Sora started off, oblivious to her sudden stiffness. He started to peel the lid off the cup. "You're terrible at sharing, especially when it comes to food. The other time we shared a box of chocolates you ate all the macadamia ones without asking me if I wanted one. You're terrible in heels. Even Aqua's four year old niece in mini heels can walk better than you – ow!" He rubbed his shoulder. "And that's another thing. You are freakishly violent."

"So you think I'm terrible?"

He shrugged. '_Of course not_.' "What do you think?"

Kairi averted her gaze and turned away from him. Sora just confirmed it. She knew he wouldn't lie to her.

At her silence, Sora lifted his head to see her crestfallen expression. "Hey, uh, I was kidding." He told her frantically. "It was a joke."

"No, you're right." When she heard the kettle whistling, she stood up. "I'll get that."

"Kairi," Sora reached out but she didn't respond. "Look at me."

"Forget it. I just want to eat."

"Seriously, I…" He sighed. Without knowing what else to do, he loosely wrapped an arm around her shoulders and hugged her from the back, her head limply falling forward. "Sorry." He mumbled into her hair. "It was a bad joke."

"Then that's terrible of you." Kairi mumbled back. "Just so you know, I was leaving you all the good chocolates because I knew you didn't like macadamia in the first place. And I'm the violent one? Look who attacked me earlier." Fire started to ignite in her eyes as she spun to face him. "Also, your food palette sucks! Who eats cup ramen all the time?" She paused, realizing how loud her voice had become. "What am I doing?" Her body falling forwards into his arms naturally.

"Being you." Sora shrugged and laid his head back on top of hers.

"That's the problem. I'm terrible."

"Stop it," Sora murmured. "You did nothing wrong."

"But I broke up with Riku."

Sora looked down abruptly and Kairi's shocked face mirrored his own. She obviously didn't mean to say that. Not out loud, anyway.

"W-What?"

"I, today… at the centre…" Kairi closed her eyes. There was no use in hiding it anymore. "I pulled Riku to the side and ended it." She grimace as she remembered his face scrunching up in all sorts of emotions before he stormed off. She was left alone in the empty office after that but the feeling as if a weight was lifted from her chest was indescribable. It felt almost good. "Isn't that a terrible thing to do?"

Sora opened his mouth to say something but found that he couldn't. What was he supposed to say in this kind of situation? No matter how much life advice he could give, the plausible fact that he was a guy remained. Should he even comfort her over the loss of another man with said man being Riku? Hell no. "Why?" He finally managed to blurt out. "Why did you do it?"

"Because…" She got quiet. Her next few words might have sounded totally clique but it was exactly what she had been thinking. "He's not the one."

She was relieved when Sora didn't react to that.

Her eyes shined as she remembered the past few months. "I liked the glory. I liked the fame and fortune. But I can't force my feelings to like someone." She tightened her hold on the back of his undershirt. "I thought that maybe if we dated a bit longer, maybe go out more often, something would happen. But nothing changed." She almost sounded annoyed. "It sucked."

Sora nodded understandably as he stroked her hair gently. He had honestly no idea what to say or what to do. All he knew was that she needed to get it off her chest.

"I just wish that I didn't go through with this at the start." Her fingers fidgeting with her pockets unconsciously. "I hate how much money and effort he has used on me or that I wasted his time when he could have been going out with someone else that was perfect for him. He only wanted me to enjoy myself with him and yet, this is how it ended."

"Don't beat yourself up on it. If you didn't put in the same effort then you wouldn't be hurt too."

Kairi looked up briefly, her forehead touching his chin, before she got lost in her own thought. "Yeah." He was right. Riku himself wasn't a bad person. In fact, she did enjoy his company. But, even if she was feeling sad and awful at the moment, she knew she did the right thing.

Silence lingered between them but the two remained standing still in the kitchen. Her eyes glanced behind him to the forgotten kettle and cup of noodles. She wasn't sure how much time had passed but she was positive that her noodles were beyond cooked.

Kairi was the first to pull away. "Aren't you going to say I told you so?"

Sora raised a brow. "About?"

"About the fact that it would be awkward if we broke up and then seeing each other at the centre every day." Kairi shut her eyes tightly and groaned. "This is going to be awful."

"You'll work something out."

* * *

Kairi woke up suddenly. Huh? She frowned, trying to remember where she was. The couch easily reminded her. Oh yeah. At Sora's. She couldn't remember how it happened but here they were, stuffed on cup noodles and passed out on the couch. A blood curdling scream made her attention snap towards the television. She blinked blearily at the screen in front of her. It was some cheap budgeted horror movie playing.

She looked over to her side and found Sora fully awake watching the movie. He was lying on the longer side of the couch. His eyes were glazed as he was fully invested in the movie. Yawning, she stretched her limbs out lazily, her fist accidentally connecting to Sora's head. Oops.

"Kai…" He groaned, swatting her hand away. "Stop it. I bruise like a peach."

Kairi rolled her eyes. Ignoring the bloody show on screen, she reached into her pocket to grab her phone. There was one message from Namine asking where she was. Seeing that as a sign to leave, she shook his shoulder while standing up. "Imma gonna home now." Though slurred due to her drowsiness, her message was clear to him.

Sora grabbed her wrist before she could go. "The movie isn't over yet. Just sit back down and enjoy it."

Feeling touched, her lips curved up. She wasn't sure if it was his words or how she was dreading the time to tell her housemate the reason about the breakup, but Kairi was more than happy to comply with his orders. "Okay then, I'll stay a little longer." Her eyes glanced to the empty cups on the table. "I'll start to clean up."

"That requires you to go out of the room, right? You don't have to."

"Uh, I'll just go and turn off the light in the kitchen."

"No, leave them on."

Kairi blinked at his strange behaviour. Earlier he was macho enough to go after a burglar. She even had the bruises to prove it. It was almost as if he was – _oh_. A smirk formed on her face as it dawned on her. "Sora, don't tell me," she bit her lip to stop laughing. "Are you scared from the movie?"

"Huh, who's scared?" His external demeanor looked cool and collected yet his grip around her wrist said something else. "That's not possible. I don't see anyone scared."

"Mhmm." Kairi stifled a giggle. "I never knew you had this side to you. It's a bit," she cocked her head to the side innocently, "I don't know… cute?"

Sora glared up at her. "Okay, okay. You had your poke at my masculinity so sit back down."

"Where's your manners? Say please."

He raised a brow up at her but she just stared back down at him. She wasn't going to budge. She was having too much teasing him. "…Please have a seat."

"Kairi-sama."

Sora shook his head and chuckled. "That's a bit too much."

"Come on." Kairi chided teasingly, "If you don't say it, I'm going to go home."

"Fine… Kairi-sama," Sora placed emphasis on her name, humouring her. "What kind of game is this?"

"A fun one."

Sora scoffed. "For you, you mean."

"Well…" Kairi paused to think, the smile never leaving her face. "Yeah. Whatever, you should be glad that I'm here."

"Lucky me,' Sora remarked sarcastically.

The credits started to roll on the screen behind them but they paid no attention to it as they started to laugh together. Pausing for air, Kairi's eyes softened down at him. She almost forgot how easy it was to forget all about her feelings when she was with Sora. It was a moment just like any other time but somehow, at that point in time, she couldn't help the tingle that shot down her spine.

* * *

**Author's note:**

I watched 'Me Before You' the other day and I gotta say... _dayum _Sam Claflin. Haha! Other than that, the movie reminded me that romances are not always about the good stuff. It can be about the bad things too because sometimes happiness can be a mere illusion, something simply unattainable. But hey, that doesn't mean happiness is never a possibility either when you turn the page ;) Anyway, who else saw this movie?

Chapter inspirations came from Dengeki Daisy, a horror story I read when I used to play Neopets (massive LOL. I tried to google the same story but got something similar instead. The girl's name is Lucy in the story I found, go read it!), and **Meghan Trainor's 'Mr. Almost'. **I only heard this song while I was editing but I think it fits Riku and Kairi's relationship perfectly.

Next chapter is about 60ish% completed. It should be up soon anyway.

Thanks guys! :)

|26-06-2016|


	20. The Day Going Once

**-:-:-:-:-**

**Chapter 20: ****The Day Going Once...**

**-:-:-:-:-**

"So?" One of the nurses eagerly whispered to the other nurse who came into the Corner café. "How did the meeting go?"

She sighed as she took the seat next to her at the table. "All right, I guess. I told Dr. Turner everything I knew about my patient."

"That's good. So why are you still so stiff? What's the problem?"

"I know Dr. Turner is really good at his job but he still scares me sometimes, you know?" She leaned back in her chair. "It felt like an interrogation in there. I get so flustered in there and start babbling!" A second sigh escaped her lips. "It's worse that he's so good looking."

"Mmm, tell me about it. The other day I had to ask him about a medication and the second he looked at me, _dayum_," she swooned dreamily. "It's like his eyes are penetrating straight through my soul."

A teasing smile spread on the second nurse's face. "You know what else he could penetrate?"

"Oh, stop you!"

The women laughed giddily, the other customers that were walking past them ignoring them. It had become a norm for the female staff to openly discuss the famous doctor. Even Riku himself had become oblivious to it.

"I wonder why he's in such a bad mood today," the second nurse pondered out loud. "I wanted to ask if he would be my date to the charity event tonight."

The first nurse scrunched her face up. "What are you talking about? Obviously he's going with his girlfriend."

"Oh didn't you hear the good news?" Her eyes sparkled. "Apparently Dr. Turner is back in the dating scene."

She spun in her seat to face her. "What?! What happened to…" Her brows furrowed together as she searched her memory. "What was her name again? Katie? Kelly – "

"Kairi?"

"Yeah, her," she nodded at the recognition, taking a sip of her coffee. "I don't know why he went out with her in the first place. She's not even that pretty."

"And she's kind of fat," the second nurse added in.

A loud laugh escaped the first nurse. "I know. Why did they break up anyway?"

"I dunno. He hasn't said anything but isn't it obvious?" The other woman snorted, not caring who was listening to her. "She was using his fame and glory and then dumped him once she reached the top."

"No way!"

"And I heard she slept around with Dr. Fair for quite some time when – "

"Oi!"

The two looked up and saw the brunet barista towering over them with his arms crossed against his chest. Coffee powder stained his apron and parts of his face but that didn't stop the annoyed look on his face as he stared down at them.

"You know everyone can hear you, right?"

"Um, so what?!" The second nurse replied in that occasionally alarming stern tone that females can do so well. "We can say whatever we want."

"And so can I," Sora replied calmly, feeling everyone's eyes on him. He gestured his head towards the door as he placed his hands on his hips. "Take that outside because I will not tolerate such childish behaviour here."

The women had a decency to show embarrassment as their cheeks turned a bright red and held their noses up high.

Sora stayed where he was as his eyes followed them out the door. He wanted to make sure that they were completely gone before he let out a deep breath. Turning around, his eyes instantly went to the person hiding not-so-subtlety behind an open standing menu. "You can come out now."

The menu fell down on the table instantly, revealing the redhead. A relieved expression was on her face as she leaned back on her chair. "News travel fast, huh?" She chuckled softly. "It's funny how people can turn on you so easily."

"Why don't you stand up for yourself?" Sora sat down at the seat across from her. "I know you're more than capable to do so."

"Yeah but I don't want to fight," Kairi lifted her cup of coffee to her lips and took a sip. "I want to at least be civil with my colleagues."

"But," he knitted his brows together. "Doesn't it make you angry?" He clenched his fist on the table, the action catching Kairi's attention. "It's as if they don't know how to mind their own business and make up crap just to entertain themselves!"

She grabbed his hand before he could do anything else. "Hey," she said gently. Subconsciously, her thumb started to trace circled at the back of his hand to calm him down. "It's okay. I don't care about them. Heck, I don't even know who they are but they can say whatever they want about me."

Sora continued to frown. "But – "

"Besides, I can't sink down to their level," Kairi told him, "I have to be the better person, right?"

Whether it was her gentle smile and words or the way she was reassuring him with her actions, he started to relax. He couldn't understand why she wouldn't be mad but he knew she knew what she was doing. "Okay," he finally said. "If you say so." Suddenly, he felt self-conscious. He had definitely been staring at her for too long. Definitely. The way her hand was squeezing him didn't help the situation either. "So, uh, what's this charity dance they were talking about?"

"Oh," Kairi paused to think, not noticing his hand retracting back ever so slightly. "It's an event the medical centre runs every year to raise money for charity. There's dancing, food and sometimes an auction."

"An auction?"

"Yeah," she tucked a stray hair behind her ear. "A guy goes on stage and whoever places the highest bid on him gets to go on a date with him."

Sora nodded his head slowly. "Uh-huh," he drawled out, trying to understand the situation. The thought of Kairi bidding on another guy was horrific. "Are you going?"

"Yeah."

"But, um," he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Do you have a date?"

"I was going to go with Riku, but…" she sighed dejectedly. "Not anymore."

Sora lit up instantly. "What if I was your date?"

"Huh?"

A red hue instantly spread on his cheeks. "I-I mean," he spluttered out. "I can help you out just like before. That way no one can talk bad about you. It's not a romantic gesture. No romantic intentions at all. Ha!" He started to laugh anxiously but on the inside he was having an internal meltdown. _'Way to be subtle, Sora!'_

To his relief, Kairi started to laugh. "Who are you? Hercules? Do I really need that much saving?"

"Well, you see," he coughed into his fist. "I do have a bit of a hero syndrome."

She rolled her eyes when he winked and shoved him lightly, almost making him fall out of his seat. "Sounds contagious. Maybe you should get it checked out." She stood up to leave. "I'll be fine so you don't have to come. Seriously. Thanks anyway."

Sora watched her leaving figure. Once she was fully out of the café, he let out a breath and closed his eyes. Once he made a decision he re-opened them, a fire of determination now flowing within them.

"You're still going to go, aren't you?" Ventus' voice popped out from behind him.

"Yup."

* * *

For the first time in his life, Sora can honestly say he felt like the Flash. He had never cleaned up the café as quickly as he had that evening, practically throwing dirty cups and saucers into the dishwasher. From that afternoon, thoughts of Kairi had been brewing in his head. He knew underneath that strong mask of her, she was actually quite fragile. Although the aftermath effects of their breakup was inevitable, it was painful to watch her go through it. And Sora didn't like that.

After gaining some intel from his customers, he had found the room the event was in and walked in. It was a fairly large conference room with a stage on the side. Several tables were scattered on the other side with a space in the middle for dances. It was a dark but comfortable atmosphere with moderate pop music playing in the background. Almost immediately he regretted not changing his clothes before entering. Everybody else was wearing smart casual office clothes, while he wore his mere coffee-stained shirt. But he didn't mind. He was here on a mission; to make sure she was okay and get out.

Sora spotted her almost immediately, her red hair gave her away easily. To say that he was glad to see her was an understatement. She was sitting at the corner table with her legs crossed on top of the chair, holding onto the straw of her drink with one hand while taking a sip. Her face flooded with a wide smile every so often as she laughed along with the rest of her table. It was a good feeling. It was as if she was in her own protective circle.

Suddenly, her head turned to his direction and he darted behind a pillar instantly. Sweat ran down his forehead as he leaned against pillar. He was feeling rather foolish at the moment. He was an adult, so why was he hiding like a teenager hiding from his parents? He should have just told her that he was coming. That's it. Or better, he should have minded his own business and went home. But nope. He had to take a page from Roxas and acted on impulse to make sure Kairi was okay. After a moment, he ducked his head out to scope out the situation and saw that she was still sitting at her table.

"What are you doing?!"

"Whoa!" Sora almost fell. He placed a hand on his chest as he looked up to the man before him. He recognised him as the other doctor who was helping Aerith out when she got burnt. However, from the way his eyes pierced down on him, it told him that he wasn't going to be as friendly towards him as he was with Aerith. "I, um..."

"Why are you perving on one of our girls?" Zack barked out. "Are you stalking her?"

"No! Nothing like that!"

"Right." Zack crossed his arms against his chest, his biceps proving to be nothing but intimidating. "Give me one good reason I shouldn't call security right now."

"I-I-," Sora waved his hands in front of him frantically. "I'll do anything!"

The edge of Zack's lips curved up as his mako eyes lit up gleefully. "Anything?"

"Anything."

"Are you single?"

That made Sora take a step aback. "Huh?"

"Are you single?" Zack reaffirmed.

"Uh... yes?"

Grinning mischievously, Zack circled him. He eyed him up and down while murmuring incoherent statements to himself, making Sora feel extremely uncomfortable. He twisted his body around, following Zack's every move.

Suddenly, Zack snapped his fingers."You're perfect! Come with me!"

Sora gulped as the man lead him to the stage with the flashing lights and podium with a single hammer. A group of guys were huddled around the stage. His eyes widened as he realized what he was in for.

Why oh why was the world so cruel to him?

* * *

"Testing... testing... 1, 2, 3..."

A loud pitch electrified throughout the room, making everyone cringe into their seats as they held their hands over their ears.

Zack scratched the back of his neck when he felt all eyes on him. "Uh, sorry, heh..." He coughed behind his hand before quipping a cheerful tone."Hi everyone! This marks the centre's 25th annual charity event and I would personally like to thank each and everyone of you who has participated tonight. Every penny that gets donated tonight goes straight into a charity of the centre's choice. That's right," he winked. "100% is contributed to charity! Woo!" Once the crowded settled down, he continued. "At last, we have arrived at our highly anticipated event! We have a line up of men up for auction tonight so ladies gather around!"

Seductive low music started to blast from the speakers as a crowd of women gathered to the front of the stage before the podium, whispering to each other in excited voices. On the other hand, Kairi rolled her eyes and hid at the back of the crowd with her co-workers. It was a safe distance to ogle whoever was on stage without getting gauged and mauled by the other women. Besides, she didn't want to look desperate.

"Let's start off with two of our finest bachelors on Destiny Islands! Thanks to a lot of nagging and bribing," Zack lowered his voice and paused for a moment, creating suspense in the crowd. "Here is the one and only... Dr. Riku Turner!"

Kairi blocked her ears from the noise the crowd was making. She knew the man was popular but this exceeded her expectations. '_Good grief, there's someone crying,' _she thought darkly as she eyed the weeping lady on the side. A small lump formed in her throat when she made eye contact with Riku as he made his way onto the stage. It had not even been a week since their breakup and still… she felt awful. But here he was, looking as if he didn't care. It was confusing her. He wasn't the type of guy to participate in these events so why now?

She sunk back into her seat and cast her gaze towards the exit, contemplating whether to leave or not. She didn't want to bid anyway.

"All right. Calm down, ladies. You'll all get a chance," Zack called out into the microphone. "So let's keep going and introduce our next man! Give it up for Sora!"

Kairi's eyes widened in shock as she shot her head back to the stage. No way! What was he doing here?! Somewhere in the background, she heard Selphie leaning over and murmuring a confirmation, informing that it was indeed the brunet barista. She contemplated whether she should move to the front for a closer look but she stayed where she was. She could make out his spiky brown hair as he came out on stage. From the small wave he gave to the crowd she could he clearly did not want to be there.

Zack walked up next to him and pat him on the back. "Aw, don't be so shy, Sora! Today might be your lucky day." He laughed loudly at Sora's scared expression. "So…" He flashed a smirk into the crowd. "Who wants to start?"

"1 munny for Sora," Riku raised his hand jokingly.

Sora shot him a glare as the crowd laughed along with him.

"1 munny it is!" Zack called out and banged the hammer on the podium. "Can I get 2 munny for Riku?" He called out sarcastically.

"100 munny!"

Zack pointed a woman in the middle of the crowd. "100 munny for Riku to that lady! Do I hear 200 for Sora?"

"200 munny!"

"200 munny for Sora!" Zack repeated.

"500 munny for Dr. Turner!"

Zack banged the hammer. "500 munny for Dr. Turner! Can I – "

"1,000 munny for Dr. Turner!"

"1,000 – "

"5,000 munny!" Another woman screamed out. She made eye contact with the previous woman and sneered.

The previous woman glared back and raised her hand up again. "7,000 munny!"

Kairi looked around nervously, an uneven feeling pitting in her stomach. She glanced to the stage. Sora was still looking uneasy while Riku had a confident smirk on his face.

"Dr. Turner's winning by a landslide," a voice whispered from behind her. "Poor Sora."

Kairi frowned. "Selphie!" She whispered heatedly back. "I can't believe he's doing this! We got to do something!"

Selphie cocked her head to the side, confused by her alarm tone. "Why? What's the problem?"

Kairi's cheeks automatically flushed red. She was usually the girl who would step back and allow people to do whatever they want. Skydiving? Sure. Bungee jump? Go ahead. But this? With grown-up women yelling his name to go on a date with him? That made her a little bit uncomfortable and she wasn't sure why, not that she was going to admit it out loud or anything.

A loud clap from the audience caused the two to look forward, seeing that another woman had placed a higher bid.

"Okay, 10,000 munny for Riku. Is there 1000 munny for Sora?" Zack called out, looking into crowd.

Silence engulfed the room as everyone looked at each other. A sigh of relief escaped Sora's lips as he knew the auction was about to end. He wasn't sure how much of the spotlight he could handle, even if it was for charity. A loud snort from Riku alerted him and he shot his head towards his rival. "What was that?" He asked.

"Pathetic," Riku mouthed back.

Sora narrowed his eyes dangerously as he felt something in his mind crack. Oh, hell no.

"1,000 munny anyone?" Zack called out again. "It's only – oh my! What is he doing?" The room became stunned as attention was brought back to the brunet. He flashed the crowd a dazzling smile as he started to slowly unbutton the first button of his top… and then the second…

Kairi tried to stifle a gasp when she finally took a good look at what he was doing. Although it wasn't fully off, it showed enough to indicate that the man had spent a decent amount of time working in the gym. She was mesmerized by the way his fingers as he trailed down his shirt, occasionally showing hints of his well defined abdominal muscles.

Cute face. Sexy body.

Damn.

After all this time, how did she not notice that body? Through the peeks of his chest, she could see that he was absolutely stunning!

Selphie glanced at Kairi, taken aback by the intense stare towards the stage. Certainly she could say that she knew the girl well but this was a far cry from what she had ever seen before. Even towards the silver-haired doctor.

"5,000 munny for Sora – "

"10,000 munny!" Another woman interrupted. Kairi turned her head towards her in shock and gave her a once over. She was drop dead gorgeous and her lips curved prettily up at Sora. Kairi wasn't oblivious to what her signals would achieve, but honestly, she hoped he wouldn't take the bait.

Zack pointed to the woman who had just screamed out. "10,000 munny it is for Sora! What about Riku – oh, ladies," he gave a low whistle. "You really are in for a treat! Riku has joined the strip show!"

If the shrieks had been loud before, they were now deafening. The simple black jacket Riku wore was slowly sliding off his arms as he flung it into the crowd. Women from every angle threw themselves in the air to catch it. Kairi rolled her eyes at the scene and looked back up. She knew Riku was fit but she never saw the real thing. Instead of unbuttoning half of his shirt like Sora, he had undid them all, leaving his chest exposed for all to see. His muscles were perfectly proportioned to his frame, strong and well-defined. As a final gesture, he held his hands over his head and leaned against the wall nonchalantly.

Sora crossed his arms and grinned. Riku turned out to be more competitive than he thought.

"Can I get 15,000 munny for Riku?" Zack called out.

"15,000!" Someone squealed.

"20,000!" A second bidder yelled.

"25,000!"

"30,000!" The second bidder called out again.

"30,000 munny for Riku!" Zack repeated, ignoring the triumphant smirk that Riku shot back at Sora. "That is truly amazing! Can we go any higher?" He waited for a bit, watching the intense stare down between the two ladies. Once he saw the first bidder shake her head he banged the hammed down on the podium. "Sold! Congratulations!"

The second bidder squealed out in glee as she jumped up and down in her heels excitedly. Eyes of envy was placed on her as she ran up to the stage and wrapped her arms around the still half-naked Riku tightly.

Zack cleared his throat into the microphone and turned his attention back to Sora. "Okay, ladies! We still have one more man left! Do I hear 15,000 for Sora?"

"Take off your shirt!" A woman next to Kairi yelled out.

"Yeah! Take it off!" Murmurs of agreement were echoed among the crowd as a chorus of female chanting began. "Take! It! Off!"

Zack looked back at Sora, who could only shrugged back. Sora gulped hard as his hands went to undo the last few buttons of his top. His eyes glanced around the crowd one last time until they landed on Kairi's, finally realising that she was in the crowd, too. However, there was something in her eyes that compelled him to stop. She didn't mind Riku but when it came to Sora, Kairi felt herself wanting to march straight up to the stage and throw a blanket over him. She didn't like it when other women were screaming for him to be half-naked. She didn't like when he smiled in their direction, even when she knew he was doing that to get more money for charity.

A small smile curved on Sora's lips as he started to re-button his top instead. He ignored the groans and 'boo's' from the crowd as he smoothed his shirt down.

"Now, now ladies," Zack attempted to quiet the crowd. "It seems like Sora is saving that part for somewhere more private, am I right?" He elbowed Sora suggestively, who only rolled his eyes in return. "Let's get back to the auction. Do I hear 15,000?"

Kairi let out a breath of relief, one that she didn't realise she was holding. She looked around – and although she would hate herself if she ever admit out loud – she was a bit pleased that nearly everyone backed off. But that still didn't settle the pit in her stomach that the pretty woman was going to go on the date with Sora.

"Going once…" Zack started to count down. "Going twice…"

"15,000 munny!" A quick voice called out behind Kairi.

"Sold!" Zack banged the hammer down. A cheer up roared from the crowd as he squinted towards the back of the crowd to identify the bidder. "Who said that?"

Suddenly, Kairi felt someone jab her side hard and jumped out in pain. "Ow!"

"You!"

Kairi felt all eyes on her as she stopped rubbing her side soothingly. "'Huh?"

"Congratulations! Come up and claim your prize!" Zack cheered.

Her jaw dropped open. "Wait! I didn't…" she looked behind her and saw Selphie smiling gleefully at her. Her eyes widened as she started to put together the puzzle. "It wasn't me! It was – "

"C'mon, don't keep him waiting," Zack urged her hurriedly as the crowd started to cheer for her. "He doesn't have all day."

Her voice wasn't heard as the crowd was much louder than her protests. Hands from every angle pushed her to the front and eventually up onto the stage. Her cheeks flushed red again, ignoring the shock look from the silver-haired doctor. With a final push from Zack, she landed – more like stumbled – into Sora's arms.

Kairi's first instinct was to spill the truth to him because she was feeling a little bit overwhelmed by the sudden accusation. But when she looked up at him, that disappeared from her lips as he flashed her a shy smile. From that moment, she was encased in her own world. Zack, Riku, Selphie and the other women – they started to cease to exist. However, one thing was for certain – he owed her a date.

* * *

After the auction has settled down and photos were taken, it was Kairi who had dragged Selphie with her back to their table. She knew Sora was in the bathroom but there was something she desperately needed to talk to her friend about without his presence around.

"Selphie..." Kairi said, able to speak a little more louder now they were alone. "Why did you raise my hand up?"

Selphie hid a smirk. "I don't know what you mean."

"_Selphie_," Kairi emphasized. She knew that Selphie knew what she was referring to, and she knew Selphie was just playing dumb. As muddled up as her mind has been the whole night she wanted to know at least one fact clearly. She could have sat and questioned her conflicting thoughts by herself, but that wasn't her style. She wanted answers and she wanted them _now_. "Why did you raise my hand up?"

"Just because."

"_Selphie!" _Kairi growled again.

"Relax, Kai. It's just for charity," Selphie took another sip of her drink, a slight smile spreading across her face. "Plus," she looked straight into her eyes to watch her reaction. "You've hardly kept your eyes off of him."

Kairi's eyes widened. "Oh! Um, I... I just never seen him like _that_, you know? I wouldn't... _never..._ he's just a friend and I'm..."

"Just a girl who finds her male friend extremely attractive."

"I do not!" Kairi protested loudly, causing the people around them to turn their heads towards them. She bowed her head in embarrassment and sank into her seat. "It's not like I like him or anything."

"But...?" Selphie prompted, amused by her flustered state.

Kairi bit her lip. "But... there's just something inside of me... I can't describe..." Her forehead creased as she struggled to find words. "When that beautiful woman placed the highest bid on him... for a moment I thought she would win and he would go home with her... and I hated it. I really, really hated it." She wasn't sure where all this honesty was coming from but she wanted to let it out. She _needed _to.

"Kai, there's nothing wrong in thinking that," Selphie shrugged, before quickly covering herself and explaining further. "I mean, I love Wakka but I hate it when everyone is drooling over Dr. Turner. No offence, Kai."

"It's okay," Kairi waved her off. "But this is different. Totally different!"

Selphie thought for a moment, taking another leisurely sip. "Maybe it's because of your breakup that you are suddenly attracted to Sora? Ever heard of the phrase, 'the best way to get over someone is to get under someone else?'"

Kairi felt her whole body flush as red as her head. "No, no, no! I don't want to – oof!" She jerked forward as she felt someone hit her back. Momentarily forgetting about the conversation, she turned her head around to look at the culprit but there was too many people walking behind her to identify who it was. Her hand reached behind her and grabbed whatever it was that was placed on her back. A frown plastered on her face as she read what it said:

'_WARNING: I spread my legs like a virus'_

She rolled her eyes. So mature.

"What's that?" Sora magically appeared on the chair next to her.

"S-Sora!" Kairi stuttered out, suddenly remembering what she was talking to Selphie about. She seriously needed to stop reacting to him like that. "It's nothing! Nothing at all!" Her eyes glanced around frantically, trying to think of something, anything remotely intelligent to say. When she found none, she did the first thing that came to her mind. She shoved the piece of paper in her mouth and began to chew. "I wasf a bish hangry." Swallow. "Mmm..." She patted her stomach in satisfaction. "Delicious!"

Oblivious to what she was feeling, Sora gave her a questioning look before he looked over to Selphie, who only returned his stare. Then he looked back at Kairi, who was avoiding looking directly at him at all costs. He then turned to the empty dance floor. An idea popped into his head. "Hey, Kairi?" He caught her attention as a wide smile spread on his face. "Do you want to dance?"

"Huh?" Kairi widened her eyes so big as if he just suggested to rob the bank of Destiny Islands. "How do you know how to dance?"

Sora scowled jokingly. "First off, I'm just going to ignore how that question sounds like 'how do _you _know how to dance'. I'm a hella good dancer."

"I wasn't saying that. It's just…" She looked around to the women sitting on the other table who instantly turned away once she made eye contact with them. "Everyone is watching."

"Exactly." When she didn't budge from her spot, he nudged her side. "C'mon. Don't think like that. Just ask yourself do you want to be remembered as the whore sitting in the corner – " he ignored her death stare – "_or _the girl dancing with a sexy guy making everyone jealous because she doesn't give a damn?"

Kairi gave him a look in disbelief before answering with a fist to his head.

"Ow!"

"That's for calling me a whore," she gritted out, rubbing her knuckles soothingly.

"But that's what everyone is saying," Sora told her innocently, recalling the earlier conversation in the cafe.

Kairi shot a glare at him. Her eyes went back to the dance floor with the pumping music and colourful lights. She bit her lip, suddenly unsure.

Suddenly Sora stood up and started to walk towards the dance floor.

"Wait – what are you doing?" Kairi called out.

"I'm going to dance," he looked back at her behind his shoulder. "Whether you join me or not."

A frown plaster over her face, not understanding his logic. He found an available space dead centre of the floor where everyone could see him. Like any dance, he started out bobbing gently to the beat before belting out his style. She recognised some of the iconic moves; the sprinkler, the window wipers, and… was that a shopping cart? A laugh escaped her lips as she saw him take an item off the invisible shelf and place it into the invisible cart.

"Sora sucks at dancing," Kairi whispered behind her hand to Selphie.

The brunette giggled back. "Yeah, but at least he brings the party."

Seeing that someone had finally started the dance, it prompted others to drag their friends to the floor. As more and more people escaped to the flashing lights and pumping music, the harder it was for Kairi to watch Sora and see what he was doing. The last thing she saw was the same pretty woman in the auction go up to him. Kairi's eyes narrowed as she struggled to watch them, turning her head trying to get the best view as possible. Giggles were evident on her faces as she held his hands and placed them on her waist as they swayed from side to side. It was a simple gesture that proved to be nothing less than innocent yet it was effecting her more than anything.

And she wished it didn't.

Ignoring the cry of concern from her friend, the next thing Kairi knew was that she had stood up and made her way towards the middle of the dance floor. For the moment, she didn't care who was watching or who was going to judge her actions. All she knew was that she didn't want anyone to dance with Sora but _her._

"Sora!" Kairi tapped on his shoulder, making him drop his hands immediately and turn towards her. "I," she started to say but when she felt the other woman lay her eyes on her she felt her confidence plummet ever so quickly. "I, uh…"

Relief flooded his face as he took a moment to realize what she wanted. "Finally," he flashed her a smirk. "Thought you'd never asked."

She took his outstretched hand and allowed him to lead her to another part of the floor, leaving the pretty woman without another word. While walking, Sora pulled her close, leaning down towards her. She involuntarily shivered when his breath began to tickle her ear.

"Thanks for saving me. I thought she'd never leave me alone."

"Actually I was saving her from you," Kairi smirked back.

"Uh-huh," Sora pulled away, his eyes never leaving hers. "I know you were jealous."

Kairi almost choked on her own spit. "Y-Yeah jealous of your stupid moves."

"Stupid or not, you couldn't keep your eyes off of me."

A sheer blush of embarrassment immediately spread on her cheeks. "I – "Kairi protested but couldn't finish her sentence. Damn it. He got her there. Not wanting to make a complete fool of herself, she turned to leave the dance floor.

"Kairi, wait!" Sora blurted out and captured her wrist.

She calmly turned around to face him. Her expression was confused at first but softened a little at the intense stare on his face. She wasn't sure what made him look at her that hard but she found herself unable to leave him.

"Dance with me?"

Her heart skipped a beat at his request. Then she nodded, agreeing mutely.

Kairi felt all her worries vanished when Sora tugging her hand to spin her back into his arms. Cheeks flushed red, her amethyst eyes stared into his own blue ones as she finally let herself go. The rhythm of the music was taking over her body and pulsating through her veins like nothing had before. Undeniably, she got lost in her own world again. She couldn't deny that he had a natural ability to make her feel at ease. The warmth of his body was making her feel safe and that was all that mattered. She couldn't see anything else. Not even the silver-haired man who was looking around for a certain someone. He was about to step foot onto the dance floor but he stopped his action as he saw the all too familiar redhead and brunet barista together on the floor. It was a very sloppy and ridiculous dance twirling around in an endless circle to a cliché love song, but that didn't stop the satisfied smile that escaped from her lips.

Riku's fist clenched by his side and his brows furrowed together, yet he left as softly as he had entered, not saying another word to anyone.

* * *

**Author's note:**

Sorry for the delay and the long chapter. I was editing and then I kept writing... and writing... until eventually it became too long and the rest of this chapter is in the next. Hopefully it should be up soon. Anyway, a bit of insight into Kairi and some hospital gossip. And what exactly is Riku up to? Hmm... who knows. I originally wanted him to have a very minor part of this story but here he is, LOL. Thanks for the guest review, **Rosegold.** I'll definitely finish this story... one day ;P

Thanks guys! :)

|18-08-2016|


	21. The Day He Lost His Tamper

**Author's note:**

Just a bit of a warning, there is some _**swearing**_ later on in this chapter... but anyways, check out the chapter title! Do you get it? Huh? Huh? Cos tamper and temper sound the same and they are in a coffee shop... haha, enjoy! ;)

* * *

**-:-:-:-**

**Chapter 21: ****The Day He Lost His Tamper**

**-:-:-:-**

Kairi tapped the keys furiously. Her brows frowned ever so slightly at the screen but she continued to write. She was finishing the job application she had started months ago but of course, she had left it to the day it was due to submit it. It wasn't like she was lazy or that she had forgotten, she wanted time to scope out the position and to think how to sound smart. After all, she needed all the help she could get to be successful.

The time on the bottom corner of her screen alerted her that she had just finished work. Well, technically, she finished an hour ago but writing her application for another job while she was in her current job did no harm, right? She saved her draft on her USB and let out a big yawn. Instinctively, her hand reached for her phone and she unlocked the screen, opening to her contact list.

_Selphie, Sephiroth, Sora… _

Kairi blinked, her finger hovering above his picture, almost scared to press down. She had no idea why but she felt unsure. Was she annoying him with all her messages? Did he like them? Did he hate it? Suddenly, she found herself peering into the messages screen, trying to interpret their old conversations to find any clues. Nope. Nothing seemed unusual. _'Get a grip, Kairi!_ _I send him messages all the time for no reason. This should be no different.'_ She shook her head, confirming the previous thought and started to type.

_Hello, Sora. How are you?_

No, that was too formal. And when did she start to type the words out like how they were supposed to be spelt? That was way, _way _out of character for her. She frowned and deleted the whole thing.

_hi bby _

No, she never called him that.

_OMG SORA GUESS WAT_

Now she just sounded desperate.

With a sigh, Kairi gave up. She leaned forward on the desk and laid her head on top of her arms. '_What is wrong with me?' _Lately, it seemed like as if she was in a constant state of panic and confusion. It all related to one person, though. It was his fault. Definitely.

Vibration from her phone alerted her and she peered at the screen. It was Namine. Pressing the green answer button she held the phone to her ear. "Hey, what's up?"

"_Have you finished work?" _Namine asked on the other end.

Kairi raised a brow. Her housemate's voice was laced with urgency and excitement. _Too much_ excitement.

"_Have you?"_

"Yeah, I have," Kairi leaned back in her chair.

"_Meet me at the Corner Café."_

"What – "

"_See ya!"_

Kairi looked at her phone in disbelief and sighed for the umpteenth time.

Guess she didn't need to message Sora after all.

* * *

The bell above the door chimed as Kairi stepped into the café. Instantly, her eyes skimmed across the room, taking in the bittersweet aroma of coffee. It was near closing time so there wasn't that many customers left in the café. The sound of hammering that was once dominant in the past had subsided, and the last few rays of sunshine was flowing through the windows.

"Kai!"

"Oh, crap!" Kairi flinched back from the loud voice. She held a hand to her chest to calm herself down. "Nams, don't do that!"

The blonde flashed her a wide smile, placing her hands behind her back teasingly. Her white dress flowed gracefully as she leaned forward slightly. "What," an innocent tone was laced in her voice. "Were you scared?"

Kairi gave her a look. Regret immediately flooded through her as she remembered the night that she had told her housemate about the charity dance. It was her own fault, really. She knew what the blonde's taunting ways were.

"Or," Namine tapped her chin to think but the grin on her face told another story. "Maybe you thought I was someone else." Her grin grew even wider when she saw the sinking look on Kairi's face. "Maybe someone with spiky hair – "

"Are you talking about me?"

Fortunately for Kairi, Ventus had found that moment to present himself from behind the counter. Instead of his usual clean appearance, he was donned in a brown apron on top of his management attire with his hands stained with coffee powder. Stubble lined his chin and subtle dark circles laid beneath his eyes. However, his tiredness didn't stop the boyish smirk that appeared on his lips.

Namine rolled her eyes as she turned to face him. "There's more than one spiky haired person here."

"Like me," a deep masculine voice called out from behind them.

Kairi turned around and saw a redheaded man heading towards them. She had never seen him before but from the look Namine was giving him, she figured that they knew each other.

"I wasn't talking about you either, Axel," Namine huffed out, annoyed that her teasing moment was getting disrupted. She scrunched her face when he tried to mess up her hair. "I was talking about S – "

"Get real, Axel," Roxas appeared right behind Axel, interrupting Namine. Immediately, he wrapped an arm around the blonde's waist and pulled her closer. "Obviously Nams is talking about me – " he spoke down to her – "right, babe?"

Kairi let out a breath of relief. Thank goodness Roxas had impeccable good timing.

"Damn, why does everyone here have spiky hair?" Namine blushed heatedly and pushed herself out of his arms. She faced Ventus and quickly spluttered out, "One large mocha, please! I'll find a table, Kai!" She then a sweet smile towards Kairi and ran off.

Kairi raised a brow at the blonde's strange behaviour but shrugged it off. She was always weird around Roxas, anyway. She watched the two builders share a laugh and head out the door leading to the outside area, before she turned back towards the register. "I'll have a paopu smoothie, Ven," she ordered.

"Coming right up," Ventus took the fifty munny note from her hand and calculated the change.

Her eyes were trained on Ventus, who was handling their order. Once he was back behind the machine to make the mocha, she cleared her throat. "So, uh…" she started off, trying to conceal any nervousness in her voice as much as possible as she asked her next question. "Sora's not here today?"

"Nah, he has meetings all day."

That perked her interest. "Meetings? For what?"

"HR stuff."

"But…" Kairi scrunched her brows as she tried to piece the puzzle together. "Shouldn't you be going instead? You're the manager and he's just the barista."

"Not for long."

A wide smile grew on her lips as realization hit her. Even though Ventus was being subtle as hell, she knew what was going to happen. Excitement started to fill her body but she contained it. After all, her thoughts wasn't confirmed, yet. She looked back at Ventus. It wasn't usual for him to be so quiet but with his appearance, there was only one thing that came to mind. "How's the wedding preparations going?"

"Good," Ventus recalled absentmindedly, his hand reached over to the tamper. "Aqua's almost fired our florist because she ordered 71 long-stemmed roses and not 72."

Kairi grinned. "Sounds like she has a bit of bridezilla going on."

"Yeah, but that's just how she is," Ventus let out a chuckle. His usual cheerfulness starting to ignite slowly. "You're coming to the wedding, right?"

"Definitely! Wouldn't miss it for the world!"

"Excellent," Ventus handed the two drinks to her. "See you later."

Kairi soon found Namine settled by the table with the couches. She placed the mocha and her bag on the table while she sat opposite her. They both sat in silence, taking slow sips of their drinks.

"So," Namine said casually. "Anything interesting happening lately?"

"Oh, actually on the way down here there was a guide dog wearing a nappy and it…" Kairi trailed on, spotting Namine not-so-subtlely looking past her. "Why do I get the feeling that you aren't interested about the random things I meet and that you have some sneaky reason to be here today?"

Namine brought her attention back to the conversation. "What? Of course I'm interested in your life… like that other night," the teasing smile returned. "I completely forgot about it. Can you please recap me?"

Kairi ignored the latter teasing remarked and focused on the other part of the night. "Well, Riku's fanclub kept on bothering me."

"Those evil bastards! How dare they do that to my innocent and kind friend who has done nothing wrong whatsoever!" Namine cried out dramatically. Her voice was louder than usual which only looked like she was unbelievably shocked to the naked eye, but to Kairi, she knew that Namine wanted to be heard. Namine looked around, proud that the other customers had heard her, before asking in a quieter tone. "Are they still bothering you?"

Kairi shrugged. "Most of them have stopped but there are some that are so damn persisted," she groaned, remembering earlier events that happened during the week. "The other day, someone switched my presentation CD with porn!"

"What!" Namine burst out laughing. "How did you not notice?"

"They were both blank so they looked totally the same!"

"Oh, my! That could only happen to you, Kai!" Namine sniggered. Once she saw the glare shooting towards her, she stopped. "You know," she thought out loud. "If you had been upset it might have gotten you some sympathy. But you act like you don't care at all so that might piss them off and make things worse?"

Kairi moaned into her hands. "Ugh, then what should I do?"

Namine scratched her chin. "Why don't you ask Riku?"

"Riku?" Kairi repeated incredulously.

"Riku is not only popular, he's also influential with his words, too." Namine explained. "He can make everyone listen to him because of the atmosphere he creates."

"I can't ask him to do that."

"Why not?"

"Uh," Kairi peered up at her with one eye. "Did you forget that we broke up? We haven't even talked since let alone made eye contact. So why do you think he would listen to me now?"

Namine took a leisurely sip from her coffee cup. "Because he still wants to talk. You said he stormed off right after you told him you wanted to break up, right? Don't you have other things you want to say to him?" She watched the redhead nod her head before she continued. "I think he feels the same."

"How do you know?"

Namine looked at her straight in the eye and gave a small smile. "Just trust me," her voice held such sincerity and genuineness, Kairi had no doubt that she needed anymore clarification.

Kairi sipped her smoothie as she thought. Namine was right. Riku is influential. If he could talk to his fanclub, they would back off. And if they backed off, she could go back to the days where work was actually enjoyable. No more girls gossiping about her. No more pranks. No more porn playing CDs –

"Hey!" Kairi widened her eyes as she spotted the blonde grinning madly with _her _phone. "What are you doing?"

"Just sending Riku a message," Namine replied, still tapping away as if nothing was wrong.

Kairi gaped at her. "You sent a text to Riku?!" She stood up and tried to grab her phone off Namine, but she only held the phone closer to her body.

"Yeah, and just for future reference, cut back on the love hearts," Namine made a face. "Gross."

"Don't read my messages!" Kairi flustered and finally snatched her phone back. But it was too late. Namine had already sent the message. "Oh, god. You told him to come here?" She wanted to dig herself a hole. "He's not going to come."

"Trust me," Namine repeated herself, her voice brimming with confidence. "He will."

"Ready to go?" Roxas appeared at her side from out of nowhere, again. A black jacket was worn over the top on his white tank, indicating that he had finished work.

"Yup," Namine stood up. "Sorry, Kai. Gotta go!"

Kairi stared at her in disbelief. "You're leaving? Just like that?"

"Chill, Kairi," Roxas spoke up for the blonde. "We have a very important date to go on."

It took a moment for Kairi to figure that her earlier suspicion was correct. "So you did have a sneaky reason! You were using me!"

"I was not," Namine tried to mock a hurt. "I genuinely wanted to spend quality time with you."

"More like you didn't want to be alone while you waited for _Roxas!_"

"I, uh…" The blush on Namine's face only darkened as she looked at Roxas, who only casted her a smug smirk. Guilty as charge. "L-Let's just go." She pulled on Roxas' hand. "C'mon."

Kairi sighed, but this time, it wasn't in annoyance. It had been a long time since she had seen Namine that happy, and although there were several downfalls in their relationship, she was happy to see that it was Roxas who can truly give her happiness.

Her eyes went back to the untouched mocha that was left on the table. "There's still so much left," she mumbled to herself and shook her head in disbelief. "Unbelievable."

Sensing that it was time to go, Kairi stood up. Picking the two cups in her hand, she quickly rounded the table… and promptly ran straight into someone. Somehow she managed to avoid dropping her smoothie but the cup of coffee she was holding had spilled its content all down the poor victim's white dress shirt.

"Crap! Sorry – " her eyes widened when she saw who it was – "Sora?" She wanted to hit her head against the wall. Out of all people, it had to be him! "Oh my god, I-I, uh, I – "

"It's okay," Sora straightened his top down, examining the damage. "I wasn't watching where I was going – "

"I was in a rush and didn't see you – "

"But I should have said something and – "

"I was clumsy and – "

"I'm sorry!" They both exclaimed simultaneously.

Sora caught her eyes and for a moment they were silent, their hand motions frozen in midair. Then he started to laugh, prompting her to laugh as well. "What are we doing?"

"I don't know," Kairi said between each breath. "But I know I shouldn't be laughing."

"Same," Sora grinned. "I don't think Ven will find it funny when HR thinks I'm tardy _and _poorly dressed."

Her hand instantly flew to her mouth. "Oh no! I ruined your top for the meeting!"

"It's fine," Sora tried to reassure her with a smile. "I'll just zip up my jacket."

Kairi frowned at his attempt to cover the brown stain. Just her luck, the coffee had managed to spill from his collar to his sleeve, and down the front of the top. She sighed. "You can still see it." There was only one thing to do. "We need to wash it out."

"But – " Sora stopped when he felt her pull him by the sleeve. He trailed behind her loyally through the door leading to the kitchen when she finally let go. "Kai, don't worry about it," he waved her dismissively. "It's just a little stain."

Kairi ignored him, leaning her hip against the sink as she held out her hand. "Give it to me."

Sensing that she wasn't going to take 'no' for an answer, Sora zipped down his jacket off, pulling the white top up and over his torso. Standing in only dark blue slacks and black dress shoes, he handed the coffee-stained material to her obediently. Just like that, Kairi couldn't help but to take a moment to observe him. The night of the charity event only gave her a sneak peak of his body but now, with him standing in front of her, she felt like she got the full show. She was mesmerized by the way his biceps still stayed defined even when he was physically relaxed. Her eyes trailed along his sun-kissed skin to his neck and then down towards his pectorals. '_I wonder if he has abs…'_

"I do."

Kairi had to hold onto the edge of the sink to keep herself standing. "I-I– " she stuttered out in embarrassment. Damn thoughts! They never learned to stay in her head!

When he reached over to grab the detergent from the ledge, Kairi couldn't help but to glance down. He practically invited her to look when he confirmed it.

Oh _dayum. _

Yup. There they were. One, two, three –

"Huh – what?" Kairi came out of her daze. She was pushed to the side as Sora started to run the tap. "What are you doing?"

"Figured I should wash my own top since you were busy."

Kairi's jaw dropped. She knew she got caught again when she saw the smirk on his face. "I was not!" She protested wildly and shoved him away from the sink. "I can do it."

Sora raised his brows, his arms crossing against his chest. "You sure you can concentrate with me around?"

It took a great amount of willpower for Kairi to not look back. "Don't be so cocky," she managed to squeak out. Placing the shirt in the sink, she started to rub the shirt with her fingers. "Anyway, why are you here? Ven said you had a meeting or something?"

"Aqua had another emergency wedding dilemma and Ven asked me to close the store for him," Sora explained. "The next one is a dinner meeting so I have time."

"I see."

A moment of silence passed between them. She tried to focus on the task in front of her but found that she couldn't. Not when she could feel his eyes on her. Just like the night of the charity dance, she didn't know what came over her but her heart started to speed up. She squeezed her eyes tightly. '_Snap out of it, Kairi! Just because he has a good body it doesn't mean anything!' _She mentally cried out.

Suddenly, Kairi found his arms on either side of her, effectively stopping her internal meltdown. Before she could ask what he was doing, he was already squeezing the bottle of detergent on top of his shirt.

"You're taking too slow," his voice was dangerously close to her ear as his head leaned down at the crook of her neck to give him a better view of the sink. "This might be faster."

"O-Oh," Kairi uttered, not finding the strength to retort a comeback. She found herself staring at the way his hands was massaging his top into a soapy lather. Every once in a while, his hand would overlap with hers and make her own hands covered in soap. It was just a small touch, but even so, it made her skin tingle. She could practically feel the goosebumps rising on her arms. Sora being topless didn't help the situation either. His bare chest was literally pressed against her back, and she could feel his muscles flex with every movement he made. If she couldn't concentrate then, she definitely couldn't now. Her physical form instantly stiffened as her mind started to realise the situation she was in.

Sora was half-naked behind her.

Sora's beautiful half-naked body was behind her.

Sora –

"Seriously, shouldn't girls be better at getting stains out than guys?"

For the second time, Kairi snapped back to reality. "Uh…" she didn't know what to say. His close proximity was muddling up her mind to think straight. She desperately needed him to wear some clothes – or _anything, _really – to remind her that he was still Sora, not some god-like body sexy beast. Snatching the shirt from him, she lifted it higher towards the water. "If you say so!"

"Wait, Kai! That's a bit too close to the tap – "

Sora didn't finish his sentence as he was sprayed in the face with water. He flinched back from the attack and glared at her, who was already backing up away from him.

"Oh my god…" Kairi's hands flew to her mouth as she tried to suppress her laugh. Her eyes widened when she saw him grab the wet material. "Oh, no you don't…"

His lips tugged upwards to one side as he peered down at her evilly.

* * *

Riku felt like he was making a mistake. He wished he had never seen Kairi's message. But since he was a doctor, he had to answer all his messages despite whatever its content was. However, that doesn't mean he had to answer it right away. Knowing that it was past the closing hour of the café, he ran a tired hand through his silver locks as he walked down the hallway of the medical centre, taking the familiar path towards the Corner Café.

A girlish squeal from his left brought his attention to a couple of females who were following him.

"Hey, doctor," one of them cooed. "Where are you going?"

"Can we come?"

Riku kept his head forward. "No," he answered automatically.

Groans echoed in the hallway as he kept on walking. He had become used to all the attention but he that didn't mean he liked it.

A brow rose when he heard thumps and shrieks coming from inside the café. Curious, his hand turned around the knob and he pushed the door open. Before he could utter a sound, a flash of red ran past him.

Riku was frozen on the spot. '_What…'_

Kairi dashed around a table and a very much shirtless Sora hot on her heels, not hesitating to follow her around.

"Stop! Stop!" Kairi laughed. "That's cruel!"

"And what you did isn't?"

"It was an accident!"

Riku was still. He watched as Kairi's body leaned back over the couch as Sora hovered over her. Riku could see that Kairi was trying to get away from a wet shirt that Sora was holding to her face.

"Don't you dare!"

"Just think of it like a makeup wipe," Sora grinned wickedly as he leaned down closer. "I'll be gentle on your eyes."

Kairi was about to keep pushing him back with her feet but stopped once she felt Sora get off her. "Finally! I thought – oh, Riku!" She twisted her body around and saw Riku standing at the door. The atmosphere became tensed as his eyes were locked down onto the brunet's. This was her chance to talk to him again! "Can we – "

"So the rumours are true, huh?"

Kairi was startled. She immediately stood up from her position. "Riku…"

Her worried look just aggravated Riku more. "Is this what you wanted to tell me? That you have moved onto – " he motioned his head towards the barista – "Sora?"

"It's not like that," she tried to take a few steps towards him. From all the time that she knew him, she had never seen him this mad before. He was seriously pissed and calling Sora by his name was just proof of that. "I was here with Namine and – "

"And what?" His eyes turned spiteful. "Once she left you decided to screw him?"

Kairi frowned. "That's just some stupid hospital gossip!" She cried out exasperatedly. "Why can't you believe me?"

"How can I believe a skank?"

A flash of hurt crossed her face and she looked away quickly, not wanting him to see how much his words had affected her. If this had happened half a year ago, she wouldn't care. She would even use her fist of justice to knock some sense into him. But it was one thing for people she didn't know to be talking about her and another when it was Riku, who she had let him into his life for a little bit. It was different. She thought things had changed between them. Even with the breakup, she thought that they were still friendly enough to hold respect for each other. But from the look on his face, apparently not. And there was nothing she could say to change his mind. "I… I need to go. Sorry." She exited the café before Sora could stop her.

"What the hell?!" Sora instantly growled. "What's your problem?"

Riku was stunned for a moment. He had never seen the barista this agitated before. Getting his bearings back, he hissed, "I know what I saw, Sora."

"Like hell you do!"

"Whatever."

"Is it so hard to listen to the full story?" When he was met with silence, Sora ran his hand through his hair in frustration. "You know what your problem is? You're an asshole!"

Riku stepped closer to him. He was using his full height as an advantage. "What did you say?" He whispered coldly.

"You're an asshole." Sora repeated slowly. He wasn't threatened by Riku as he looked right back up at him. He was sick of his attitude and refused to hold back anymore. "I thought you might have changed just a little bit, but nope, still an asshole! The entire time when you and Kairi dated, all she thought about was you. She was always waiting around for you but you gave her nothing in return. No, wait – " his eyes widened in realisation. "There was nothing there to begin with, wasn't there?"

Riku grabbed his arm. "What do you know?" He shook Sora. "Why do you have to interfere with everything? Mr. Goody-Goody thinks he can save the world and be everyone's friend – "

"That's it, isn't it?" Sora pushed his hands off of him. "You always hated me from the start and the moment something doesn't go your way, it was easy to pin the blame on me. But what about you?!" He glowered. "You make up all these bullshit excuses when all you really need to do is to get off your fucking high horse!"

Riku huffed angrily. He wanted to protest that he was wrong but damn it, he wasn't.

"If you want to keep hating me, that's fine!" Sora continued. "If you want to sulk about it, go ahead. But don't," he glared warningly, "Don't you dare take it out on Kairi."

Riku's eyes widened. When he finally saw how unconsciously protective he was of the girl, his anger subsided instantly. "Damn it, it's real," he said softly, more to himself. "Your feelings for her are real…"

"So what?" Sora scoffed. "Those are mine, not hers."

"I, yeah, no…" Riku shook his head. The impact of his words hit him like a train. What was he thinking? Of course she didn't deserve that. She did nothing wrong. "I'm – "

"Don't."

* * *

Kairi leaned back against the wall near the bathroom. Several hospital personnel that passed by her gave her odd looks but she ignored them.

Why did she run anyway? She was ready to stand up for herself. It was only Riku after all. But his cold demeanor threw her off guard. She had never seen him like this before. His misplaced accusations made her feel like she was the one who was guilty. But she didn't do anything wrong. She wasn't a skank and she didn't definitely didn't move onto Sora, right?

…Right?

"Kairi?"

Her eyes looked up and saw the doctor walking down the hallway towards her. "Oh, Riku." She looked away quickly. "I was, uh, on my way to the car park." Disregard the fact that it was on the other side of the medical centre. "Just lost my way," she mumbled quietly.

"I'm sorry." Riku's voice stopped her.

"No, it's fine." Kairi dismissed him. Somehow, she felt like she should be the one apologizing.

"Kairi," he said her name so gently that it made her look up at him. She saw that his eyes were reflecting something she had never seen before. "I'm really sorry for everything." And he meant that. This was Kairi, the first girl who treated him like a normal human being. He couldn't forget that. "I… I don't know what came over me."

Kairi caught the sincerity in his voice. "It's okay," she replied softly, touched by his words. "Seriously."

"Kairi – "

"C'mon, what's with that serious face? What happened to the cocky bastard that I know?" She put on a smile. "It's fine. I know you're still angry from the breakup."

"It wasn't like that." Riku shook his head.

Kairi cocked her head to the side, confused, waiting for his explanation.

Riku just gave her a long measured look in return. An unbidden thought came to the forefront of his mind as he studied her face. "You win." He rummaged through his bag and pulled out a folder. "Here, I wanted to surprise you when we were dating but the timing was never right." He handed a piece of paper to her. "I submitted it early so you should hear a response soon."

Her eyes skimmed through the pieces of paper before widening in surprise. "Is this…?" She looked at him, back down to the paper then back up at him. It was his reference letter! "Thank you… but why?" She didn't understand. Why would he still write her one?

"Before we broke up, no – before we started to date." Riku recalled. "When we made the bet, I knew I was going to lose from the start and – "

He didn't get to finish his sentence as he felt her arms wrap around his torso tightly. "You didn't lose." She mumbled into his chest. "I did like you... I really did…"

"But not in that way." Riku finished for her, almost painfully.

"I'm sorry."

At the sound of those two words, his usual cool demeanor broke slightly. He knew it. He knew it for a long time. And Sora was right. He was an asshole. When the truth got too much for him to handle, he wanted to blame someone for everything that happened. But how could he when it was no one's fault? Hell, he knew she tried. She tried so hard to feel something – _anything_ – but nothing happened.

"You'll find someone much better than me," Kairi looked up at him, her eyes slightly rimmed red. "She may not be as pretty as me, or as smart as me, or as funny – "

"Don't push it," Riku scowled jokingly. That was just like Kairi. She made the situation a lot lighter than it should be. His hands finally rested against her back with ease.

Her face broke out into a grin. "It's the truth, though." Her eyes softened as she became serious again. "You deserve to be happy with someone else, Riku."

After feeling her shuffle in his arms, he noticed that Kairi was looking down at her phone writing a new message. As much as it hurt him to let her go, he had to. Even if it's to his worst enemy.

"Go," Riku stated softly.

"What?"

"He's looking for you too." From his earlier behaviour, Riku was almost sure he was going to get his ass kicked by the barista, but at the last second, he turned around and left to look for her. His main concern was her – it always had been. Back then and now, Sora has always been looking after Kairi.

Kairi gave him a nod and let go of him. "Thank you." Before she left completely, she turned around again. "I'll see you around, okay?"

"Yeah."

Kairi only beam brightly in return. Unlike their last encounter, this was different. They weren't going to lose each other.

Not at all.

* * *

Kairi sighed as she closed her phone. In the midst of everything her battery had ran out. Again.

She stood idly outside of the main reception of the medical centre, leaning against a pillar. The sun was now gone, the stars welcoming the darkening sky. She didn't know why but she felt her nerves being on the edge throughout the whole day and just being underneath the peaceful sky made her feel at ease.

Looking up, she met Sora's eyes. She was half-expecting him to be topless but somehow he had managed to fling on his jacket. He held his phone in one hand as sweat ran down his forehead. No doubt he had been running around, yet the way his forehead relaxed when he finally found her shot a tingle down her spine.

"Are you okay?" Sora asked softly, holding her shoulders.

Kairi nodded, her eyes looking up at the moon. "Its past dinner and… your meeting… the shirt…" she trailed off solemnly, her head bowed down. "I'm sorry."

"It doesn't matter."

"But – "

"You're more important."

She sucked in a deep breath as she heard the tenderness in his voice. There was something different about him that she couldn't explain. Everything was muddled up and making her confused. "But – "

"Let's go home," Sora continued, his hand trailing down her arm to her hand. He gave her a gentle tug to make her move. "Come on."

What he was doing was nothing new to her, so why was she being so conscience about it now?

"Kairi?"

"Yeah, okay." Kairi shook out of her trance and smiled up at him, squeezing his hand back.

* * *

**Author's note:**

Sora can get pretty angry when he's... angry. But it's all for the right reasons ;P Thanks so much to the guest who reviewed the last chapter! How dare you forget the story :O haha jkjks! I'm glad you are still enjoying this and I really appreciate your support :)

Thanks again guys!

|2-10-2016|


	22. The Day To Be Diaphoretic

**-:-:-:-:-**

**Chapter 22****:** **The Day To Be Diaphoretic**

**-:-:-:-:-**

"Hi, I'm here for the interview at 11.30a.m?"

"Can I get your name, please?"

"Kairi Hart."

The receptionist entered her name into the system. "Ah!" Her eyes lit up when she found a match. "Thank you. It's still a bit early so please have a seat."

Kairi nodded an appreciative thanks and followed her instructions. As she was walking along the black and white marble floor, her mind wandered off to the week before.

It was all thanks to one man that got her to where she was today. Or one name, for that matter.

For the first time in her life, she had never been so grateful for the name, Dr. Riku Turner. She knew he was a celebrity but she didn't realize how big of an influence he was. Miracles could happen just by mentioning his name alone. A day had only passed since he told her that he had sent her application in when she received a call from an unknown number. Without thinking twice, she picked up and found out that it was the head of the department asking for an interview. Flash forward another few days and here she was, sitting on the plush black couch in the waiting room in the Radiant Garden Hospital.

Growing up in Radiant Garden, she knew that her world was fancy but it still amazed her every time she came back. Around her, the walls were lined with white paint and subtle lilac patterns. The sun from the windows was shining through, giving the hospital a friendly and warm glow. As much as she wanted to appreciate such a luxurious setting, her nerves kept her back as she glanced sideways to scope out the competition.

Other potential candidates were sitting around her. Polished clothes, smart make up, organised folders, there were even some people practicing their answers out loud. She took a big gulp. The competition was tougher than she thought. Did she even stand a chance?

Kairi breathe deeply as she tried to calm herself down, holding her hands together to stop them shaking. She was pretty sure the last time she perspired this much was back when she was eight years old confessing her love to the boy who gave her his gummy bears for lunch. She developed a hate for gummy bears soon after that.

Her eyes shut close as she reminded herself that this interview could change her whole life.

"Get out!"

Kairi felt herself jump as she turned her head around. Heels hit the ground as a woman dressed in black and white ran out of the interview room. She hid her face with her hand but it was evident that she was crying.

"That's right, run! Leave!"

The same roar from before bellowed from the interview room, bringing everyone's attention back. The interviewer, Kairi assumed, was a middle-aged lady with striking white hair and blue eyes. Her smart black suit was straight and smooth matching with black flats. If this was another day, Kairi would have thought that she looked sophisticated – _elegant_, even. But with the way she was frowning, she looked like the devil herself.

"You disrespectful little ingrate! No wonder you're unemployed!" The interviewed huffed and flicked her hair back. She narrowed her eyes at those in the waiting room who were watching the scene in front of them. "What are you looking at?!"

Eyes immediately left her as the room remained silent when she slammed the door shut.

If Kairi thought she was nervous before, she was wrong. She was _petrified_.

A buzz from the desk came through and the receptionist answered it. After a few seconds, she put the phone down and walked over to the waiting room. "Mr. Pete? We're ready for you."

A man stood up, sweating profusely. He took a gulp before following her to the interview room.

Kairi watched the poor soul and took that opportunity to silently pray; one for him and one for herself. Her hand reached into her bag and unlocked her phone. _11.10a.m._ She was probably next. There was still a bit of time but at least it gave her time to prepare herself, mentally and physically. After that ordeal, she needed to relax. Opening her the zip wider, she double checked that she had everything in her bag.

Resume, cover letter, Riku's reference letter, pens...

Her phone suddenly started to vibrate in her bag. Oh, right. She needed to turn that thing off. Pressing the home button to end the call, she placed it in the pocket of her bag… only for her phone to start vibrating again. Deciding to take it, she sighed and pressed the green button without seeing who it was. "Hello?"

"_Kairi!" _

Instantly, she held her phone a few centimetres away from her ear. She didn't need a broken ear drum right before the interview. And she wasn't expecting it to be him either.

"What do you want, Sora?" She hissed into the speaker, trying to keep her voice soft. "I really can't talk to you right now."

Sora chuckled on the other side. "_What? Are ya bored of me already?"_

Her brow raised up at his response. "Are you drunk?"

"_No way, I'm sober."_ His slurring spoke otherwise. "_Totally sober."_

"Right," She rolled her eyes. "Where are you?"

"_I'm at home watching some good ol' teevee – "_

"Sora."

"_Okay, okay," _Sora chuckled. "_We're at Ven's stag night."_

That explained a lot. Kairi huffed out a breath of annoyance. "Can't you call me later?"

"_Noooo," a_ pause was heard on the line when his name being called in the background_. "Hold on, Kairi."_

"Wait!" Kairi said quickly but didn't hear her as the line went silent on the other end. She sighed. She really did not want to be dealing with a drunk Sora when she was about to go for a life-changing interview any moment now.

"_You there, Kairi?"_ Sora's voice returned on the phone.

"Yeah, I'm still here."

"_Take your pants off, Sora!" _

Kairi blushed at the sudden outburst. "W-What?" She was pretty sure that it was Axel's voice but it still made her fluster.

"_Why? Do you want to see my underwear?"_

"No!" Kairi exclaimed quickly.

"_Not you, Kai," _Sora answered back before his voice disappearing again.

She sank in her seat in embarrassment, wishing she could marinate in shame. Of course he wouldn't be asking her that. "Sora, what's happening?" She asked curiously.

"_Nothing, it's just – can you please shut the hell up?!" _

Kairi snapped her mouth closed. What did she do?!

"_Oh, crap! Sorry, Kairi! I wasn't talking to you!"_ Sora apologized immediately. "_Uh, Axel's just being an ass."_

She laughed a bit. "As usual. Maybe you should go."

"_Wait, give me a second_," Sora told her again. "_I need to relieve myself! _" He called over the phone. Scuffling and more background voices were heard before she was finally met with silence. "_Okay, finally_." There was a slight echo from his side but she caught onto the amusement in his voice. "_I'm not actually relieving myself, by the way_."

A smile played on her lips as she shook her head. "Did you really have to say it like that?"

"_Yeah, otherwise Axel wouldn't leave me alone. You should see him the way he sticks to Roxas! They are like magnet, connected by the hip, waffles…"_

Kairi raised a brow. "Waffles?"

"_Yeah, sometimes they stick together when you cook 'em 'cause that's what good waffles do." _An audible shiver was heard from his side. "_I hate it when they stick together."_

"You sound like you're jealous," she teased him.

"_What! No, I'm not!" _

"Why so defensive, Sora?" She continued, slowly sinking into the couch as she relaxed. "You don't have to hide it. I'll accept you for who you are."

"_I'm not like that!"_ Sora defended quickly. _"Besides, Axel sticks to Roxas anyway."_

Kairi hid her laugh behind her hand. She was having a bit too much fun now. "Aww, is that jealousy I hear?"

"_Pft, no way. Why would I be?" _He snorted. _"I have you." _

That jolted her back up. "What – what, huh?"

"_Why would I be jealous when I'm talking to a pretty girl on the phone… in the bathroom…_ " His voice became low and suggestive _"… all alone…"_

Kairi was rendered speechless. How was she supposed to reply to that? It was one thing when he was sober and teased her, but this was something else.

"_Oh, baby. I'm feeling so hot right now…"_

Kairi swore her face was as red as her hair yet she couldn't breathe out a comeback. "Uh…"

"_Do you feel it too, Kai-ri_?" He rolled her name off his tongue so slowly that she thought she was going to faint. "_Am I making shivers run down your spine_?" He was. "_Do I make your heart skip a beat_?" Yes. "_Are you –_ "

"Sora!" She cut him off quickly before he could say anything more.

"_Mmm, say my name again, Kai-ri… " _

"What – oh god!" Kairi flustered, holding her bag closer to her chest. "I am not having this conversation with you!" She got even more annoyed when she heard Sora laughing on the other end. "Why are you laughing?!"

Sora couldn't contain himself. "_I_ – " He laughed again. "_I wish I could have seen your face!"_

"Sh-Shut up!" She shot back lamely, trying to compose herself as she came back from her Sora-induced state. The other candidates stared at her with a funny expression, amused at what they were hearing as she failed to keep her voice soft. They could only wonder what the conversation was about. "I knew you were drunk!"

"_I told you I'm sober_," he came down from his high as his voice turned serious again. "_But if you want more_ – "

"No!" Kairi exclaimed. She could feel herself going red again.

"_Are you sure? I'm starting to feel hot again _– "

"Oh my god – go to hell."

She pressed the red button and groaned into her bag, ignoring the strange look that the receptionist was giving her. What did she get into? After a few seconds he called back again.

"_Don't hang up,_" It was evident that Sora was trying hard not to laugh at the moment. "_I promise I won't do it again… not on the phone, anyway…"_

"… such a jerk…"

"_What was that?"_

"I said, I hope you're having a great time over there," Kairi replied in a sickly sweet voice.

"_Oh, thanks I am now."_ He chuckled. _"You're not being nice at the moment."_

"Whatever do you mean? I just hope you don't get alcohol poisoning from tonight."

Sora laughed again. "_How many times do I have to tell you I'm sober?"_

"Yeah, I know," Kairi emphasized the last part, her eyes glanced over to the receptionist who was answering a call. "So, what do you want to tell me? I really need to go_."_

Coughing was heard on the other end, which only echoed through the bathroom he was in. "_I… uh…"_ She could imagine him straightening himself out and trying to put on the clearest voice he could at that moment. "_It's just that you haven't been to the café since and, uh, I just wanted to know if you were okay from… you know... last time…" _

Her heart started to thump louder in her chest again. She had almost forgotten about that. "Yeah, I'm okay," she nodded, even though he couldn't see her.

"_You don't have to lie, y'know. Riku was a massive douche bag."_

"No, I'm fine," she smiled a little. "Really, Sora. Thanks."

"_I'm glad," _a breath of relief escaped from his end. _"… Well, the boys are calling me back for another shot – "_ he coughed suddenly. – "_I mean, uh, another glass of water. Yeah, water! Good old H2O!"_

Kairi rolled her eyes at his lie. "Just… drink safely, okay?"

"_Yeah, yeah."_

The line went dead and Kairi stared at the screen longer than necessary. Her eyes softened as she glanced over his photo in the contacts page.

"Miss. Hart?"

Kairi shot her head up to look at the receptionist. "Yes?"

"It's time."

Well, there goes her preparation time. But when she thought about it… it wasn't bad at all. Having a conversation with Sora always lifted her spirits. For him to take time out to call her made her feel somewhat… special.

Kairi stood up from her seat and turned around to place all her documents back into her bag. As she reached over to hitch the strap over her shoulder, she realised that her hand wasn't shaking anymore.

The receptionist waited patiently at the doorway and smiled at her. "Are you ready?"

Her lips curved upwards as she stood next to the receptionist. With a new found confidence, she nodded slightly, her eyes brimming with determination. "Yup."

* * *

**Author's note:**

Man, how long has it been? Sorry for the delay guys. I can only blame life, a bunch of korean dramas, a bunch of real-life dramas, and the discovery of KHUX for the delay, lol. I've still been writing on and off but this chapter really bummed me. So, apologies for the really short chapter! I didn't know how to continue this without stopping the scene there. There's at least five other documents for this chapter that were way more longer and had a bit of a story going on but I liked this one the best. It's short and hey, who ever said this story was consistent? LOL, anyways! I hope everyone had a good holiday over the summer (or any other season wherever you guys are) and hopefully the next chapter will be out a bit more soon. I'm thinking maybe three more chapters and an epilogue, and then that's it :P

Thanks again guys!


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